THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is Squoosh an Ice Cream Sandwich Day. No, don't squish it, squoosh it!
Today is Hug Your Cat Day.
Today is National Lovey Dovey Day. Decide how to celebrate it with someone special.
Today is International Day of U.N. Peace Keepers.
Today is Morning Radio Wise Guy Day, a day to honor all morning disc jockeys who help you get your day started. But you don’t have to do anything special.
Personally, I feel honored any morning you don’t throw your oatmeal at the radio.
Patrick Henry was born on this date in 1736. Patrick's favorite saying was "Give me liberty or give me death." He said it all the time. And sure enough -- eventually he got one of them.
On this day in 1912 the Ladies Home Journal fired 15 women for doing "The Turkey Trot" during their lunch hour. Proving once again a woman's place is in the home -- and a turkey's place is in management.
Bob Hope was born on this day in 1903. He died in 2003 at age 100
John F. Kennedy was born on this day in 1917.
Pink Flamingo Day - 1956 (others have it as June 23rd, go figure) Honors Don Featherstone, creator of the original Plastic Pink Flamingo. Shortly before the 50th anniversary of Featherstone’s flamingos, the manufacturer Union Products ceased production and went out of business, however, other versions of pink flamingos are still available from a few companies in the US.
Paper Clip Day - do you have the same habit I do of bending them into fun shapes
1942 - Bing Crosby recorded his version of “White Christmas.” It would go on to sell over 30 million copies.
THIS IS LIFE:
Q: You are over your dryer sheet budget and worry about not being static-free. Should you: (a) wear fewer clothes; (b) tell everyone that "clingy" is the latest style; or (c) reuse your old dryer sheets?
A: Tightwad Living magazine says you can dab a bit of liquid fabric softener on an old dryer sheet and reuse it several times.
IN THE NEWS:
Serious Threats
The U.S. is warning that it will respond to North Korea's nuclear threat... just as soon as it deals with the threat to "Jon and Kate Plus 8."
AOL Spinoff
Time Warner is set to spin off AOL sometime this week. It's marketing slogan will be: "AOl: We're the New GM!"
Stimulus Whine
Michigan is complaining that it hasn't received much of the stimulus money... I guess that $50 billion we just spent for a worthless auto company doesn't count.
After running out of options, Chrysler headed to bankruptcy court yesterday morning. And — this isn’t good — it headed there in a brand new Mitsubishi.
President Obama had less than a one-hour warning before North Korea's nuclear test. That's not bad when you realize he gets no warning when Joe Biden's going to go off.
President Obama is in Las Vegas. So if things go well at the tables, General Motors just might make it.
O.J. Simpson is appealing to the Nevada Supreme Court hoping to overturn his convictions for armed robbery and kidnapping. Good idea. Having something like that on your record can really hurt your image.
The Vatican has launched Pope2You, an iPhone app that lets users view pictures of POPE BENEDICT XVI, send virtual postcards of him to friends, and read his speeches and messages.
Luxury brands are finding it profitable to think small for products ranging from cigars to perfume bottles. Case in point: Nubs, a shorter luxury cigar.
At four inches, Nubs are kind of like half cigars. And at $6.50 a piece, they cost about half as much as a typical cigar. They've caught on, doing close to $8 million in its first year. Those are really big numbers for a brand right out the gate.
Nubs are among several luxury products going small to make it big. Just like most everyone else, wealthy people aren't spending like they used to, either, so high-end restaurants are expanding their appetizer menus, expensive hotels are promoting shorter stays, and even perfume is going petite.
Trade Secrets:
More than ever, consumers are assessing just how much they get for a dollar spent, and some once-trendy brands are increasingly perceived as a waste of time and money. A brand perception survey by Brandindex from January to April found that some brands, like Starbucks and General Motors’ Hummer are not convincing consumers that they offer value. Hummer came in dead last in a survey which is based on about 300,000 online interviews with consumers who are 18 and older.
The top 10 brands and the percentage of consumers who said they offer the most value for your money:
10. Target (50.7)
9. Whirlpool (51.9)
8. Lowe’s (52)
7. Subway (52.1)
6. Johnson & Johnson (53.7)
5. Rubbermaid (57.9)
4. Google (59.4)
3. Craftsman (61)
2. Discovery Channel (62.5)
1. History Channel (63.8)
The bottom 10 value brands and the corresponding consumer ratings:
10. Nieman Marcus (-19.4)
9. Citibank (-21)
8. 7-Eleven (-21.2)
7. Abercrombie & Fitch (-23.9)
6. Perrier (-24.6)
5. AIG (-28)
4. Red Bull (-29.6)
3. Starbucks (-30.2)
2. MTV (-34.5)
1. Hummer (-36.1)
Smart is so cool! - An Iraqi-born 16-year-old reportedly has cracked a math puzzle that has gone unsolved for over 300 years.
Mohamed Altoumaimi, who immigrated to Sweden six years ago, took only four months to find a formula that explains a sequence of calculations known as the Bernoulli numbers, a code that had stumped some of the best experts in the field, Agence France-Presse reported.
Altoumaimi said after his high school teachers were skeptical about his work he contacted professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden’s top institutions, who confirmed his formula was correct and offered him a place at the university, AFP reported. The teen opted to continue his general studies but planned to take courses in advanced mathematics and physics this summer, AFP reported. I’m still trying to figure out Rubik’s Cube and that Sudoku thingy.
Improve Your Cellphone Battery Life. Check out these tips to extend your cellphone’s battery life.
• Turn Off The Vibrate Feature - The energy required for turning the tiny motor which causes the phone to vibrate is almost double to that required for the same phone to ring.
• Turn Off Back Light - If you do require to use the back light then its best to keep your back light time out to no more than 3 seconds.
• Use Cellphone Just For Talking - Avoid playing games, using the built in camera feature, listening to music, instant messaging or surfing the web.
• Reduce Volume Level - Another way to increase your cellphones batteries is by lowering down the volume for the ring tone and by turning of unnecessary sounds.
Turn Off Your Cellphone When Necessar
Take Care Of Your Cellphone Battery - If possible try to fully charge your batteries nightly at minimal once every three days.
Report: Americans Not Wearing Enough Sunscreen-More Women Than Men Wear Sunscreen. The survey, conducted by Consumer Reports, found that 31 percent of Americans do not wear sunscreen if their going to be out in the sun. Women report using sunscreen more than men, but admit that they do not routinely apply it to their children.
The people surveyed provided a wide range of reasons why they do not apply sunscreen, some of them include:
Stinging or bothersome sensation in the eyes
The “stickyness” factor when it comes to the sand
The cost of the sunscreen
What about construction workers? They seem to get as red as lobsters. Don’t
forget to check the expiration date of your sunscreen. I learned the hard way that
old sunscreen loses its protective properties.
Hooray! A U.S. health official said a swine flu vaccine could be
available as early as October, but only if vaccine production and testing
run smoothly this summer. The government will have to review the
safety and effectiveness of what’s produced, and decide if a
vaccination campaign is warranted. Anybody looking for a summer
job? Help Wanted - person willing to contract the Swine Flu to prove
that our brand new kind of vaccination is effective. Perks include
getting paid and NOT getting sick. October is about the time seasonal
flu vaccine campaigns generally get rolling.
Eating for two? New guidelines are setting how much weight women should
gain during pregnancy — surprisingly little if they’re already overweight.
Once a woman’s pregnant, the guidelines issued Thursday aren’t too different from what obstetricians already recommend, although about half of women don’t follow that advice today.
Among the new recommendations:
—A normal-weight woman, as measured by BMI or body mass index, should gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. A normal BMI, a measure of weight for height, is between 18.5 and 24.9.
—An overweight woman — BMI 25 to 29.9 — should gain 15 to 25 pounds during pregnancy.
–For the first time, the guidelines set a standard for obese women — BMI of 30 or higher: 11 to 20 pounds.
–An underweight woman — BMI less than 18.5 — should gain 28 to 40 pounds.
Isn’t it something that’s hard to control and just whatever happens happens?
Here’s some pregnancy tips:
–What is the most common pregnancy craving? For men to be the ones who get pregnant.
–What is the best time to get an epidural? Right after you find out you’re pregnant.
Fatal Things to Say to Your Pregnant Wife:
“Not to imply anything, but I don’t think the kid weighs forty pounds.”
“Well, couldn’t they induce labor? The Super Bowl is on the 11th.”
“Fred at the office got this nasty paper cut. Boy, that’s gotta hurt.”
A survey says that Americans spend more than eight days yearly in the bathroom. Not all at once. In addition, they say that while women really do spend more time in the bathroom than men, the difference isn’t all that great. And I call bogus on that one. Go to any public place with a stopwatch and stand outside the bathrooms to see how long it takes a man versus a woman. Oh, and if someone leaves the table the next time your dining out, claiming they need to make a phone call? They might be fibbing. One in four of those surveyed acknowledged making a false excuse when they really were headed to the ladies or men’s room.
Ask and you shall receive - In Fort Smith, AK, a guy showed a gun in his waistband and demanded money from the convenience store cash register. The clerk said that he couldn’t do it, whereupon the robber said he needed the money for insulin. And that’s when the clerk gave the robber $40 from his own wallet. The robber ended up shaking the clerk’s hand and promising to stop by again in thanks. See? All you have to do is ask.
It Just Might Work! - Energy Secretary Steven Chu stunned the audience at a London scientific conference Tuesday with a radical but simple proposal to combat global warming: Paint all the roofs of all the buildings in the world white.
If we did so, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist said, and if we also made sure the world’s roads and sidewalks were light-colored, it would have the same effect on global warming as taking all the cars in the world off the world’s roads for 11 years. The idea is to harness the “albedo effect” — the theory that a reflective planet warms up less as heat from the sun is bounced back into space.
Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium, said the calculations are based on work done at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he used to work and where three researchers concluded last year that changing surface colors in the world’s 100 largest cities would offset 44 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
I’m tired of talking about it, but here you go anyway. American Idol Controversy!!! The big controversy is the allegation that AT&T employees in Arkansas helped people vote for Kris Allen on “American Idol,” and thus may have influenced the outcome. Fox denies that there was any undue result, although they admit that the employees did show people how to do “power texts” to submit ten votes at a time. This would be a scandal on the level of “hanging chads” if there was any importance at all to the “American Idol” voting.
Hugging is the new “Hello” for teens - students have broken down the hugs by type:
There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there is also the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out.
There is the hug that starts with a high-five; then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace.
There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once. Amy L. Best, a sociologist at George Mason University, said the teenage embrace is more a reflection of the overall evolution of the American greeting, which has become less formal since the 1970s. “Without question, the boundaries of touch have changed in American culture.” Hugging appears to be a grass-roots phenomenon and not an imitation of a character or custom on TV or in movies.
Ketchup On Hot Dogs Ain’t Right
BOSTON (Wireless Flash) – Putting ketchup on a hot dog is the biggest mistake a sports fan can make. Just ask famed sports radio host Eddie Andelman, who’s eaten thousands of hot dogs and claims to have a PhD in the ballpark staple. According to Andelman, the only condiments a real sports fan needs on their hot dog are onions, relish, and mustard, and those who glob ketchup on their weiners are “sick.” He says ketchup ruins the taste of a hot dog and should be banned from the ballpark. What’s your list of “wiener rules?” For me, the onions have to be finally diced; relish can over power the taste of the hot dog so you must apply it sparingly or not at all.
Quirky Characters Sell Products - Just ask Warren Dotz, co-author of Ad Boy: Vintage Advertising With Character (Ten Speed), which features more than 500 of the most outrageous, quirky characters from ads over the decades.
According to Dotz, ad characters are often so identifiable; they have no problem slinging products. He remembers being mesmerized by Mister Softee, the ’60s ice cream icon as a kid, which often left him begging his mom for a cone. Dotz says ad stars that have stood the test of time include Mr. Clean, The Kool-Aid Man, Green Giant, Smokey The Bear, and The Michelin Man, who are still used today by advertisers. Ad Boy hits shelves this June. I like those scrubbing bubbles. I’d have them as a friend on my Facebook.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
TODAY IS THURSDAY - MAY 28, 2009
THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is National Butterfly Day.
Today is National Hamburger Day.
1954: President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law that added the words "under God" to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was established on this day in 1957. This is the group that brought us the Grammy Awards—and living proof that singers and musicians can make acceptance speeches just as boring as actors.
Jim Thorpe was born on this day in 1886. You probably never heard of him because he didn't have a shoe contract.
His Olympic gold medals were taken away when it was discovered that he’d once played semi-pro baseball. If you’re not clear on what "semi-pro" baseball is, just catch a KC Royals game.
On this date in 1959 the U.S. blasted two monkeys into space from Cape Canaveral. If we can do it with monkeys, why can’t we do it with the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi?
King Solomon of Israel was born on this day in 970 B.C. Solomon tried everything to find joy in life. He became the wealthiest, most intelligent, most powerful man of his time. He did more good deeds, accumulated more possessions, and got drunker than anybody. He had 700 wives and all the beautiful mistresses he wanted. But the only joy Solomon found was in finally deciding to trust and obey God.
In other words, the famous "wisdom of Soloman" didn't even begin to kick in until he finally realized how stupid he was.
The turning point may have been the 700 wives.
Solomon said there's a time for everything. With 700 wives I don't see how he had time for anything.
On this day in 1955 Albert Whitehouse of the U.S. Steel Workers Union predicted the future would some day bring a two-hour work day. And he was right. If you don't believe it, just visit Congress.
Noah Webster, the author of the American Dictionary of the English Language, died on this day in 1843.
Dr. Joe Guillotin was born on this day in 1747. Dr. Guilotin invented the guillotine as a less painful, more humane way of executing criminals. Not only that, if you chop off someone's head, he's probably less likely to become a repeat offender.
IN THE NEWS:
The price of gas is creeping up. Do not panic. Stay calm. I want you to know -- whatever happens - I still have all of my jokes about the high price of gas from last summer.
President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor as the first female Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court She grew up in the Bronx. She said, "Don't be fooled by the robes I got, I'm still Sonia from the block."
UAW-GM Deal
The UAW's retirement health care program will take a 17.5% ownership stake in GM... raising hopes that the company will now take about 10 years to make an ambulance that gets 3 miles per gallon.
Economy The economy is getting so bad that some people are now sewing their Sham-Wows together to make their own Snuggies.
"Night at the Museum" made a bazillion dollars over the weekend. I would hate to actually spend a real night in a museum. All those ancient fossils and dusty old bones . . . if I wanted that I'd watch "60 Minutes."
The museum I do like is Madam Tussauds Wax Museum in London. They have a Karen Dye figure in there but you can tell it’s fake because there’s still a piece of chicken sitting on the plate I’m holding.
Donald Trump has closed his magazine. It was called -- surprise -- "Trump". It was a magazine for men who want to be like Donald. At its peak it had seven subscribers.
Wal-Mart is hosting its second annual ice cream social this Saturday from 11 til 4. That means free ice cream at select Supercenters nationwide.
The nation’s largest retailer will be handing out free Ben and Jerry’s Flipped Out Cup ice cream, Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bars and Dibs Snack Bags at two thousand participating locations.
A company press release also offers up Americans’ five favorite ice cream flavors:
5. Neapolitan
4. Mint Chip
3. Butter Pecan
2. Chocolate
1. Vanilla
Red Bull is being recalled in six German states after traces of cocaine were found in the energy drink.
According to Flexnews, analysts in North-Rhine Westphalia found 1 liter of the drink contained 0.4 milligrams of cocaine. German officials note that the levels are too low to be of any danger, but cocaine is not permitted in food, so the drink is being pulled.
Red Bull denies these claims, saying that the company uses the extract of coca leaf worldwide as a natural flavoring. Officials insist its cola is "harmless and marketable" in both the US and in Europe.
Procter & Gamble's Downy fabric softener has teamed up with Quilts for Kids, Inc to deliver personalized, hand-made quilts to children staying in Children's Miracle Network hospitals throughout the country. CHANDRA WILSON of "Grey's Anatomy" is a mother of three and is the spokesperson.
At the website DownyTouchofComfort.com, people can make donations, volunteer to deliver quilts or even learn how to become a local ambassador. Quilters can request a quilt kit at the site or design their own to send to their local Quilts for Kids chapter or headquarters for distribution.
National Spelling Bee on National Television Tonight finals starting at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Conservation Dept. Encouraging People to Howl Like Wolves
HOLDEN, Maine - A project involving conservationists and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists is looking for a few dozen people willing to howl like wolves in Maine's North Woods.
The Wolf Inquiry Project plans to conduct "howling surveys" in several areas this summer in hopes of discovering whether wolves are resettling in Maine.
The Bangor Daily News said coordinators are seeking individuals willing to spend a night howling in the woods and who won't be scared off if they get a response.
A training and information session for interested volunteers will be held Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden.
45 Pounds of Meat and 4 Gallons of Miracle Whip
PORTLAND, Maine - As record-setting sandwiches go, the planned world's largest lobster roll will be a colossal crustacean creation.
A team of culinary whizzes plan to combine 45 pounds of lobster meat, four gallons of Miracle Whip and a special blend of herbs and seasonings into a mix that will be slathered onto a 60-foot roll — so large that the bread will be brought in on a flatbed truck.
The monster lobster roll is to be unveiled June 7 during Maine's Old Port Festival in Portland.
The lobster roll will be cut into 4-inch sections that are to be sold as part of a fundraiser for a Portland neighborhood association for youth swimming lessons.
The association intends to get the roll certified by Guinness World Records.
Man Hopes To Visit Every Starbucks in the World
A man on a mission to visit every Starbucks in the world has a problem: Starbucks Corp. is closing scores of stores he has yet to visit.
The freelance software programmer, 37 years old, calls himself Winter. He was on a job in Wisconsin last month when he learned that a Starbucks in Prince George, British Columbia, would close the next day. He spent $1,400 to jet there for a cup of coffee -- sugar, no cream -- and a photograph.
"If the store closed before I visited, I would lose another piece of my soul," Winter says.
He has been to more than 9,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S., Japan, Lebanon, Turkey and 13 other countries in the past dozen years, a trek chronicled on his Web site, starbuckseverywhere.net. He gained some notoriety mid-decade, when he was the subject of media reports and a documentary film, "Starbucking." He has "mildly obsessive-compulsive tendencies," he concedes, and a "mild addiction" to coffee.
Born Rafael Antonio Lozano Jr., Winter is single and has no kids. When he's not on the road working on software contract jobs, playing in Scrabble tournaments or visiting Starbucks, he lives with his parents in Houston, where he stores his collection of 10,000 super-hero comic books.
He changed his name because he didn't want his credit history confused with his father's. (His dad's credit history is fine, Winter says.) His mother, Georgina Lozano, says she and her husband refuse to call their son "Winter" and pray he will halt his Starbucks mission. "My husband and I feel it's a waste of time," she says.
Winter counters that he has a purpose-driven life. "People should be out doing something rather than just existing or surviving. Even if you think that what I'm doing is meaningless, it is a purpose, at least," he says. Lately, he adds, "I feel not just satisfaction, but genuine relief when I visit a store before it closes
"Pointless though it might it be," says Winter, who plans to go to the U.K. next week, "a goal is a goal."
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is National Butterfly Day.
Today is National Hamburger Day.
1954: President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law that added the words "under God" to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was established on this day in 1957. This is the group that brought us the Grammy Awards—and living proof that singers and musicians can make acceptance speeches just as boring as actors.
Jim Thorpe was born on this day in 1886. You probably never heard of him because he didn't have a shoe contract.
His Olympic gold medals were taken away when it was discovered that he’d once played semi-pro baseball. If you’re not clear on what "semi-pro" baseball is, just catch a KC Royals game.
On this date in 1959 the U.S. blasted two monkeys into space from Cape Canaveral. If we can do it with monkeys, why can’t we do it with the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi?
King Solomon of Israel was born on this day in 970 B.C. Solomon tried everything to find joy in life. He became the wealthiest, most intelligent, most powerful man of his time. He did more good deeds, accumulated more possessions, and got drunker than anybody. He had 700 wives and all the beautiful mistresses he wanted. But the only joy Solomon found was in finally deciding to trust and obey God.
In other words, the famous "wisdom of Soloman" didn't even begin to kick in until he finally realized how stupid he was.
The turning point may have been the 700 wives.
Solomon said there's a time for everything. With 700 wives I don't see how he had time for anything.
On this day in 1955 Albert Whitehouse of the U.S. Steel Workers Union predicted the future would some day bring a two-hour work day. And he was right. If you don't believe it, just visit Congress.
Noah Webster, the author of the American Dictionary of the English Language, died on this day in 1843.
Dr. Joe Guillotin was born on this day in 1747. Dr. Guilotin invented the guillotine as a less painful, more humane way of executing criminals. Not only that, if you chop off someone's head, he's probably less likely to become a repeat offender.
IN THE NEWS:
The price of gas is creeping up. Do not panic. Stay calm. I want you to know -- whatever happens - I still have all of my jokes about the high price of gas from last summer.
President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor as the first female Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court She grew up in the Bronx. She said, "Don't be fooled by the robes I got, I'm still Sonia from the block."
UAW-GM Deal
The UAW's retirement health care program will take a 17.5% ownership stake in GM... raising hopes that the company will now take about 10 years to make an ambulance that gets 3 miles per gallon.
Economy The economy is getting so bad that some people are now sewing their Sham-Wows together to make their own Snuggies.
"Night at the Museum" made a bazillion dollars over the weekend. I would hate to actually spend a real night in a museum. All those ancient fossils and dusty old bones . . . if I wanted that I'd watch "60 Minutes."
The museum I do like is Madam Tussauds Wax Museum in London. They have a Karen Dye figure in there but you can tell it’s fake because there’s still a piece of chicken sitting on the plate I’m holding.
Donald Trump has closed his magazine. It was called -- surprise -- "Trump". It was a magazine for men who want to be like Donald. At its peak it had seven subscribers.
Wal-Mart is hosting its second annual ice cream social this Saturday from 11 til 4. That means free ice cream at select Supercenters nationwide.
The nation’s largest retailer will be handing out free Ben and Jerry’s Flipped Out Cup ice cream, Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bars and Dibs Snack Bags at two thousand participating locations.
A company press release also offers up Americans’ five favorite ice cream flavors:
5. Neapolitan
4. Mint Chip
3. Butter Pecan
2. Chocolate
1. Vanilla
Red Bull is being recalled in six German states after traces of cocaine were found in the energy drink.
According to Flexnews, analysts in North-Rhine Westphalia found 1 liter of the drink contained 0.4 milligrams of cocaine. German officials note that the levels are too low to be of any danger, but cocaine is not permitted in food, so the drink is being pulled.
Red Bull denies these claims, saying that the company uses the extract of coca leaf worldwide as a natural flavoring. Officials insist its cola is "harmless and marketable" in both the US and in Europe.
Procter & Gamble's Downy fabric softener has teamed up with Quilts for Kids, Inc to deliver personalized, hand-made quilts to children staying in Children's Miracle Network hospitals throughout the country. CHANDRA WILSON of "Grey's Anatomy" is a mother of three and is the spokesperson.
At the website DownyTouchofComfort.com, people can make donations, volunteer to deliver quilts or even learn how to become a local ambassador. Quilters can request a quilt kit at the site or design their own to send to their local Quilts for Kids chapter or headquarters for distribution.
National Spelling Bee on National Television Tonight finals starting at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Conservation Dept. Encouraging People to Howl Like Wolves
HOLDEN, Maine - A project involving conservationists and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists is looking for a few dozen people willing to howl like wolves in Maine's North Woods.
The Wolf Inquiry Project plans to conduct "howling surveys" in several areas this summer in hopes of discovering whether wolves are resettling in Maine.
The Bangor Daily News said coordinators are seeking individuals willing to spend a night howling in the woods and who won't be scared off if they get a response.
A training and information session for interested volunteers will be held Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden.
45 Pounds of Meat and 4 Gallons of Miracle Whip
PORTLAND, Maine - As record-setting sandwiches go, the planned world's largest lobster roll will be a colossal crustacean creation.
A team of culinary whizzes plan to combine 45 pounds of lobster meat, four gallons of Miracle Whip and a special blend of herbs and seasonings into a mix that will be slathered onto a 60-foot roll — so large that the bread will be brought in on a flatbed truck.
The monster lobster roll is to be unveiled June 7 during Maine's Old Port Festival in Portland.
The lobster roll will be cut into 4-inch sections that are to be sold as part of a fundraiser for a Portland neighborhood association for youth swimming lessons.
The association intends to get the roll certified by Guinness World Records.
Man Hopes To Visit Every Starbucks in the World
A man on a mission to visit every Starbucks in the world has a problem: Starbucks Corp. is closing scores of stores he has yet to visit.
The freelance software programmer, 37 years old, calls himself Winter. He was on a job in Wisconsin last month when he learned that a Starbucks in Prince George, British Columbia, would close the next day. He spent $1,400 to jet there for a cup of coffee -- sugar, no cream -- and a photograph.
"If the store closed before I visited, I would lose another piece of my soul," Winter says.
He has been to more than 9,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S., Japan, Lebanon, Turkey and 13 other countries in the past dozen years, a trek chronicled on his Web site, starbuckseverywhere.net. He gained some notoriety mid-decade, when he was the subject of media reports and a documentary film, "Starbucking." He has "mildly obsessive-compulsive tendencies," he concedes, and a "mild addiction" to coffee.
Born Rafael Antonio Lozano Jr., Winter is single and has no kids. When he's not on the road working on software contract jobs, playing in Scrabble tournaments or visiting Starbucks, he lives with his parents in Houston, where he stores his collection of 10,000 super-hero comic books.
He changed his name because he didn't want his credit history confused with his father's. (His dad's credit history is fine, Winter says.) His mother, Georgina Lozano, says she and her husband refuse to call their son "Winter" and pray he will halt his Starbucks mission. "My husband and I feel it's a waste of time," she says.
Winter counters that he has a purpose-driven life. "People should be out doing something rather than just existing or surviving. Even if you think that what I'm doing is meaningless, it is a purpose, at least," he says. Lately, he adds, "I feel not just satisfaction, but genuine relief when I visit a store before it closes
"Pointless though it might it be," says Winter, who plans to go to the U.K. next week, "a goal is a goal."
Monday, May 25, 2009
TODAY IS TUESDAY - MAY 26, 2009
THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on SPIRIT FM
Memorial Day Weekend usually marks the unofficial start of the summer boating season, though lots of boaters are still hurting from high fuel prices just like motorists hitting the road. Typical fuel consumption for a 'low usage" boating enthusiast: seven to 10 gallons an hour.
Most popular Boat names:
• Sea Quest
• The Salt Shaker
• Hydrotherapy
• Black Pearl
• Dream Weaver
• Wind Seeker
• Aqua-holic
• Second Chance
• Summer Daze
• Seas the Day (or some variation the Carpe Diem theme)
FirstBoat adds these names: Happy Ours, State of Mind, Anchor Management, The Office, Feelin' Nauti; Yes, Dear; and Serenity Now.
Are you going to work even if you feel sick? Why?
Most Americans say they go to work sick not because they're great employees but because they're scared. Thirty-eight percent tell Monster.com they're too busy to miss a day; 33 percent say they're afraid in this economy that if they miss a day, they'll lose their job.
Even though former IL Gov ROD BLAGOJEVICH won't be on NBC's "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here" — that doesn't mean his wife can't go.
Yes, that's right — NBC has signed up PATTI BLAGOJEVICH and she's going to Costa Rica for the reality show instead. As you may remember, a federal judge barred the governor from leaving the country, because he faces federal corruption charges. But the fun couple was on the "Today" show yesterday to announce the move, with Patti noting that she hopes her appearance on the reality series will help show that she isn't the profanity-spewing person portrayed on federal wiretaps: "I don't think those characterizations were fair at all," she said.
So what's Rod gonna do while Patti's away? Guess who's gonna take care of the kids...?
Some quotes for those students graduating…
*Your families are extremely proud of you. You can’t imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money. ~Gary Bolding
*Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you’ll make a difference. ~Arie Pencovici
*Commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that outgoing college students should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated. ~Garry Trudeau
*It is indeed ironic that we spend our school days yearning to graduate and our remaining days waxing nostalgic about our school days. ~Isabel Waxman
*Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford
Humorous Reflection from George W. Bush - ARTESIA, N.M. — It was a humbling moment for the former commander in chief: President George W. Bush was walking former first dog Barney in his new Dallas neighborhood when it stopped in a neighbor’s yard for relief.
“And there I was, former president of the United States of America, with a plastic bag on my hand,” he told a group of graduating high school students in New Mexico on Thursday. “Life is returning back to normal.”
Bush, in one of his few public appearances since leaving office in January, told the students that leaving office lifted a heavy burden.
“I no longer feel that great sense of responsibility that I had when I was in the Oval Office. And frankly, it’s a liberating feeling,” he told seniors from Artesia High School. When you think about it, being a public servant often requires one to carry around a plastic bag and clean up messes.
Swimsuit Season necessity - With summer upon our listener of the female persuasion might be hunting for the best hair removal product for legs. Woo-hoo! So, what’s the best? According to MSN Lifestyle it’s Veet In-Shower Hair Removal Cream ($8.29) works in about three minutes, so by the time you’re done shampooing and conditioning, the cream is ready for removal.
Mulletism - Jake Nyberg of St. Paul has been 3 weeks or so into his new mullet haircut. Nyberg hopes to expose “mulletism”–the mistreatment of mulleted Americans based on their hairstyle. Nyberg has posted about his trips to J. Crew, where a sales clerk snickered, “Full mullet in the back of the store!” At Wal-Mart, no one said anything. I’d like to hear what women think of the mullet! It seems it’s only the guys who defend the thing. Here are some other names for the mullet:
-hockey-hair, in reference to the popularity of the mullet among hockey players
-pad, because the hair in the back looks like one
-little carpet
-mudflap
-curtain
-small broom and my favorite, ‘business in front, party in back”
Doctor’s Make Housecalls - in the 1930’s, 40% of physician encounters were
house calls. That changed to 1% by 1980. 10 years ago, Medicate made it easier
for physicians to get paid for house calls and now their is a bill before Congress
that would make house calls less expensive and easier to arrange. I think
especially with today’s technology like I-Phones and such the doctor can still be
linked to his office. I know my blood pressure would be much lower if it was being
taken while I’m sitting on my couch watching the Discovery Channel or something.
Chicago buses get ads reading ‘In the beginning, man created God’-This is the slogan that was put on 25 buses in Chicago this week, as a part of the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign. The bus ads will be seen cruising all over Chicago through the month of June. Charlie Sitzes said that the Chicago slogan “makes the point that religion is a social, man-made creation – like literature, art, politics, and science – and as such, it should be subject to debate like everything else,” He adds that the view of atheists, agnostics and secular humanists are often ignored in public life. You’re not being ignored, there’s just might be nothing to talk about if the subject matter is of something that you don’t believe exists.
Pope Benedict XVI has entered the world of social networking sites and smart-phones with a Vatican portal that includes Facebook and iPhone applications.
The Pope2You Web site was launched Thursday and allows Facebook users to send virtual postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages. An application for iPhone and iPod Touch gives surfers video and audio news on the pope’s travels and speeches, as well as on Catholic events worldwide. The new portal is the latest update in the Vatican’s efforts to broaden the pope’s audience and reach out to young people. Earlier this year, Benedict got his own You Tube channel, which is now also linked to the portal. Why do I see the Pope coming out with a rap song?
Behind every great man, there is a great woman. Such is the case of the latest American Idol winner Kris Allen.
Admitting during his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, set to air on May 26, that he was “shocked every week” during competition, he says it was his wife who kept him going.
“I’ve been singing for a long time I started playing guitar when I was 13 and I’m 23 now,” he tells the talk show host. “I did the music scene in Arkansas, which isn’t that big … and It didn’t work out and I almost gave up.”
But, he continues, “My wife has been the support. I seriously almost gave up a lot, and she was just like you have to keep going. She believed in me more than I believed in myself. She is just great.”
Of Simon Cowell’s declaration Allen “shouldn’t
of played the wife card so early,” DeGeneres disagrees. She tells Allen, “I thought it was great and you seem like an adorable couple and I think it’s important for people to see that you have a wife and how supportive she was.”
It was an issue that never crossed Allen’s mind. “I care about her a lot so it didn’t bother me that she was brought up,” he says. “I think it bothered her more than it bothered me.
If I were the devil ...
Posted: August 16, 1999
1:00 am Eastern
By Paul Harvey
© 2009 WorldNetDaily.com
I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;
I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;
I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;
I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;
I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;
I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;
I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;
I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;
I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;
I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;
I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;
I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.
I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;
I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;
I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;
I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;
I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;
I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;
I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.
DELICIOUS RIB RECIPE FOR THE SUMMER GIRLLIN’ SEASON
Applewood-Fired Brandied Cherry Ribs
To start, you'll need...
• 1 Rack Fresh Pork Spare Ribs (Serves 3-4)
• 2 Portions Woodbridge Grill Applewood
RUB INGREDIENTS:
• 5 Tbsp. (heaping) Brown Sugar
• 3 Tbsp. Sea Salt
• 2 Tbsp. Brandy
• 1 Tbsp. Paprika
• 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
GLAZE INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 Cup Pitted/Diced Cherries
• 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
• 4 Tbsp. (heaping) Brown Sugar
• 4 Tbsp. Brandy
RUB PREPERATION:
• Mix rub ingredients together and coat ribs evenly (thin layer) on all sides. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
GLAZE PREPERATION:
• Mix glaze ingredients together and bring to light boil for 10 minutes, then simmer for 15 minutes.
GRILL PREPERATION:
• Place Woodbridge Grill Smoker Box 2/3 full applewood under grill and above heat source.
• Fire up grill at medium temperature.
• Rinse spareribs under water removing excess rub.
GRILLING:
• Once smoke develops, reduce heat to medium low and place spareribs bone side down on upper rack (or use indirect heat).
• Close lid and allow smoke to penetrate meat.
• Repeat smoke process for heavier smoke flavor.
• Once mahogany color develops on ribs, coat with glaze repetitively on top side.
• Grill at medium low temperature (325 degrees F) for approximately 1-and-a-quarter hours.
Enjoy!
The Government has a new pool safety website
Each year, nearly 300 children under the age of five drown in residential and public pools and spas. Submersion incidents requiring emergency-room treatment or hospitalization number in the thousands and many victims experience permanent disability, including brain damage.
http://www.poolsafety.gov/
with
JIM & KAREN
on SPIRIT FM
Memorial Day Weekend usually marks the unofficial start of the summer boating season, though lots of boaters are still hurting from high fuel prices just like motorists hitting the road. Typical fuel consumption for a 'low usage" boating enthusiast: seven to 10 gallons an hour.
Most popular Boat names:
• Sea Quest
• The Salt Shaker
• Hydrotherapy
• Black Pearl
• Dream Weaver
• Wind Seeker
• Aqua-holic
• Second Chance
• Summer Daze
• Seas the Day (or some variation the Carpe Diem theme)
FirstBoat adds these names: Happy Ours, State of Mind, Anchor Management, The Office, Feelin' Nauti; Yes, Dear; and Serenity Now.
Are you going to work even if you feel sick? Why?
Most Americans say they go to work sick not because they're great employees but because they're scared. Thirty-eight percent tell Monster.com they're too busy to miss a day; 33 percent say they're afraid in this economy that if they miss a day, they'll lose their job.
Even though former IL Gov ROD BLAGOJEVICH won't be on NBC's "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here" — that doesn't mean his wife can't go.
Yes, that's right — NBC has signed up PATTI BLAGOJEVICH and she's going to Costa Rica for the reality show instead. As you may remember, a federal judge barred the governor from leaving the country, because he faces federal corruption charges. But the fun couple was on the "Today" show yesterday to announce the move, with Patti noting that she hopes her appearance on the reality series will help show that she isn't the profanity-spewing person portrayed on federal wiretaps: "I don't think those characterizations were fair at all," she said.
So what's Rod gonna do while Patti's away? Guess who's gonna take care of the kids...?
Some quotes for those students graduating…
*Your families are extremely proud of you. You can’t imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money. ~Gary Bolding
*Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you’ll make a difference. ~Arie Pencovici
*Commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that outgoing college students should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated. ~Garry Trudeau
*It is indeed ironic that we spend our school days yearning to graduate and our remaining days waxing nostalgic about our school days. ~Isabel Waxman
*Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford
Humorous Reflection from George W. Bush - ARTESIA, N.M. — It was a humbling moment for the former commander in chief: President George W. Bush was walking former first dog Barney in his new Dallas neighborhood when it stopped in a neighbor’s yard for relief.
“And there I was, former president of the United States of America, with a plastic bag on my hand,” he told a group of graduating high school students in New Mexico on Thursday. “Life is returning back to normal.”
Bush, in one of his few public appearances since leaving office in January, told the students that leaving office lifted a heavy burden.
“I no longer feel that great sense of responsibility that I had when I was in the Oval Office. And frankly, it’s a liberating feeling,” he told seniors from Artesia High School. When you think about it, being a public servant often requires one to carry around a plastic bag and clean up messes.
Swimsuit Season necessity - With summer upon our listener of the female persuasion might be hunting for the best hair removal product for legs. Woo-hoo! So, what’s the best? According to MSN Lifestyle it’s Veet In-Shower Hair Removal Cream ($8.29) works in about three minutes, so by the time you’re done shampooing and conditioning, the cream is ready for removal.
Mulletism - Jake Nyberg of St. Paul has been 3 weeks or so into his new mullet haircut. Nyberg hopes to expose “mulletism”–the mistreatment of mulleted Americans based on their hairstyle. Nyberg has posted about his trips to J. Crew, where a sales clerk snickered, “Full mullet in the back of the store!” At Wal-Mart, no one said anything. I’d like to hear what women think of the mullet! It seems it’s only the guys who defend the thing. Here are some other names for the mullet:
-hockey-hair, in reference to the popularity of the mullet among hockey players
-pad, because the hair in the back looks like one
-little carpet
-mudflap
-curtain
-small broom and my favorite, ‘business in front, party in back”
Doctor’s Make Housecalls - in the 1930’s, 40% of physician encounters were
house calls. That changed to 1% by 1980. 10 years ago, Medicate made it easier
for physicians to get paid for house calls and now their is a bill before Congress
that would make house calls less expensive and easier to arrange. I think
especially with today’s technology like I-Phones and such the doctor can still be
linked to his office. I know my blood pressure would be much lower if it was being
taken while I’m sitting on my couch watching the Discovery Channel or something.
Chicago buses get ads reading ‘In the beginning, man created God’-This is the slogan that was put on 25 buses in Chicago this week, as a part of the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign. The bus ads will be seen cruising all over Chicago through the month of June. Charlie Sitzes said that the Chicago slogan “makes the point that religion is a social, man-made creation – like literature, art, politics, and science – and as such, it should be subject to debate like everything else,” He adds that the view of atheists, agnostics and secular humanists are often ignored in public life. You’re not being ignored, there’s just might be nothing to talk about if the subject matter is of something that you don’t believe exists.
Pope Benedict XVI has entered the world of social networking sites and smart-phones with a Vatican portal that includes Facebook and iPhone applications.
The Pope2You Web site was launched Thursday and allows Facebook users to send virtual postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages. An application for iPhone and iPod Touch gives surfers video and audio news on the pope’s travels and speeches, as well as on Catholic events worldwide. The new portal is the latest update in the Vatican’s efforts to broaden the pope’s audience and reach out to young people. Earlier this year, Benedict got his own You Tube channel, which is now also linked to the portal. Why do I see the Pope coming out with a rap song?
Behind every great man, there is a great woman. Such is the case of the latest American Idol winner Kris Allen.
Admitting during his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, set to air on May 26, that he was “shocked every week” during competition, he says it was his wife who kept him going.
“I’ve been singing for a long time I started playing guitar when I was 13 and I’m 23 now,” he tells the talk show host. “I did the music scene in Arkansas, which isn’t that big … and It didn’t work out and I almost gave up.”
But, he continues, “My wife has been the support. I seriously almost gave up a lot, and she was just like you have to keep going. She believed in me more than I believed in myself. She is just great.”
Of Simon Cowell’s declaration Allen “shouldn’t
of played the wife card so early,” DeGeneres disagrees. She tells Allen, “I thought it was great and you seem like an adorable couple and I think it’s important for people to see that you have a wife and how supportive she was.”
It was an issue that never crossed Allen’s mind. “I care about her a lot so it didn’t bother me that she was brought up,” he says. “I think it bothered her more than it bothered me.
If I were the devil ...
Posted: August 16, 1999
1:00 am Eastern
By Paul Harvey
© 2009 WorldNetDaily.com
I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;
I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;
I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;
I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;
I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;
I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;
I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;
I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;
I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;
I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;
I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;
I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.
I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;
I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;
I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;
I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;
I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;
I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;
I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.
DELICIOUS RIB RECIPE FOR THE SUMMER GIRLLIN’ SEASON
Applewood-Fired Brandied Cherry Ribs
To start, you'll need...
• 1 Rack Fresh Pork Spare Ribs (Serves 3-4)
• 2 Portions Woodbridge Grill Applewood
RUB INGREDIENTS:
• 5 Tbsp. (heaping) Brown Sugar
• 3 Tbsp. Sea Salt
• 2 Tbsp. Brandy
• 1 Tbsp. Paprika
• 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
GLAZE INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 Cup Pitted/Diced Cherries
• 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
• 4 Tbsp. (heaping) Brown Sugar
• 4 Tbsp. Brandy
RUB PREPERATION:
• Mix rub ingredients together and coat ribs evenly (thin layer) on all sides. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
GLAZE PREPERATION:
• Mix glaze ingredients together and bring to light boil for 10 minutes, then simmer for 15 minutes.
GRILL PREPERATION:
• Place Woodbridge Grill Smoker Box 2/3 full applewood under grill and above heat source.
• Fire up grill at medium temperature.
• Rinse spareribs under water removing excess rub.
GRILLING:
• Once smoke develops, reduce heat to medium low and place spareribs bone side down on upper rack (or use indirect heat).
• Close lid and allow smoke to penetrate meat.
• Repeat smoke process for heavier smoke flavor.
• Once mahogany color develops on ribs, coat with glaze repetitively on top side.
• Grill at medium low temperature (325 degrees F) for approximately 1-and-a-quarter hours.
Enjoy!
The Government has a new pool safety website
Each year, nearly 300 children under the age of five drown in residential and public pools and spas. Submersion incidents requiring emergency-room treatment or hospitalization number in the thousands and many victims experience permanent disability, including brain damage.
http://www.poolsafety.gov/
Thursday, May 21, 2009
TODAY IS FRIDAY - MAY 22, 2009
THE MORNING SHOW
WITH
JIM & KAREN
ON
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is National Wig Out day, a day to celebrate wigs bobs, and mullets.
Today is Bifocals Day
Today is National Vanilla Pudding Day.
Today is National Make a Memory Day. Do something silly with a child.
Buy-A-Musical Instrument Day - In the 6th grade my mom made me play the clarinet. It last one week. I used it mainly as a sword, gun and baseball bat. What’s your musical instrument story?
The Wright brothers patented the airplane on this day in 1906. Oddly enough, Orville and Wilbur did not agree on the main purpose of their invention. Orville thought the airplane was a great way to travel a long distance in a short time, but Wilbur saw it as a super way to sell millions of little bags of peanuts.
On this day in 1841 H.P. Kennedy of Philadelphia patented the tilt-back reclining chair. With a recliner you just lean back, relax, and do nothing. It's like having your own seat in Congress.
Today is the Feast Day of Saint Rita of Cascia. Rita is the patron saint of desperate cases and impossible situations. And I have a feeling she's got a full-time job just watching over this program.
On this day in 1892 a dentist named Dr. Sheffield invented the toothpaste tube. Let's all take off our caps to him.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood came together in 1967
MISTER ROGERS’ TRIVIA
–Fred Rogers was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963.
–When Mister Rogers came on TV singing “Won’t you be my neighbor”, many children who actually lived on his street used to yell at their televisions, “But you ARE our neighbor!”
–In May 2003 asteroid number 26858 was named ‘Misterrogers’ after him.
–The Pittsburgh Penguins, an NHL hockey team, made Fred Rogers an honorary captain in 1993.
–When he’s mad, Fred sometimes plays the piano and gets his feelings out through his fingers.
–Fred wrote all the songs on the show as well as the special operas.
–Fred has about 25 sweaters which he has worn over the years of the program.
–When Fred was young, he loved to ride the trolleys in Pittsburgh; that’s why there is a trolley on his program.
–Fred spoke French as well as English.
–His cardigan sweaters were mostly made by his mother.
–Fred was 6′ (1.83 m)
–He studied theology at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
–Fred Rogers was color blind (explains some of those sweaters)
THIS IS LIFE:
INDY 500 This Weekend
It’s such a dangerous race, to qualify you have to have two years experience in a preschool car pool. I say make the Indy 500 more interesting. How 'bout, every three laps, have a school crossing guard walk onto the track?
The Indy 500 is exciting: engines roaring ... tires screeching ... it's like 4:00 p.m. in a high school parking lot
Most guys will never know what it’s like to drive 200 miles an hour—unless the contractions are two seconds apart.
The Indy 500 is a welcome event. It's nice to see somebody besides us going around in circles.
The Indy 500 signals the beginning of summer and the end of a lot of good transmissions.
For the women who don't understand the Indy 500, let me explain it. You win the race by being the first one to drive 500 miles in a circle. It's sort of a speeded-up version of chauffeuring your kids around all day.
IN THE NEWS:
President Obama has found a way to quickly close Guantanamo Bay. He's going to turn it into a Pontiac dealership.
Vice President Biden is on a trip to Bosnia, Serbia, and Kosovo. The White House is calling it "Operation Keep Biden Away From a Microphone." He goes to Antarctica next.
It's a good news, bad news story for Procter and Gamble, makers of those fine artificial potato chip called Pringles.
The Daily Telegraph reports that an appeals court in Britain ruled yesterday that Pringles are technically, potato chips. They're really a combination of potatoes, fat and flour — 42 percent of it being potato. The court ruled that Pringles contained enough "potatoness," to be considered a potato chip.
The bad news: Food isn't usually taxed in the UK but potato chips happen to be an exception. The court ruling yesterday means Procter and Gamble will have to pay $155 million in back taxes and $31 million per year thereafter.
Something tells me the court's decision was based less on "potatoness" and more "taxiness”
Parenting.com asked a never ending question. Boys vs. Girls: Who’s Harder to Raise? Ask that question on a slow day and see what happens. A mom said this, “Never was the difference between the handling of boys vs. girls more humorously apparent than during a park visit a while back. I held Laurel’s hand as she crossed a suspended balance beam repeating, “Go slowly Laurel, be careful!” (The suspension cables looked particularly unforgiving.) Minutes later, as we crossed the next obstacle, we saw a father jumping up and down alongside his son (who was of a similar toddler/preschooler size) at the balance beam, saying “Go! Go! Go! Run across as fast as you can!”
Interesting Headline -‘Idol’ Upset: Did The Evangelical Christian Vote Push Kris Allen Over The Edge? So was it the Christian vote that prevailed in Allen’s favor?
The 23-year-old UCA student has been on the worship team at New Life Church for years and helps with their outreach programs, but unlike previous winners such as Jordin Sparks and Carrie Underwood who made their faith very well known, Allen consciously refrained from making mention of his virtuous values throughout the competition. “This is a singing competition, not a church thing,” Allen told Tarts earlier this week while Lambert added that the “vote is based on talent and performing, not religion.”
With Allen having shied away from the sectarian spotlight, his local church made up for it. The New Life Church in Greater Little Rock, Arkansas urged churchgoers to prayer and vote for the ‘Idol’ finalist, created a Facebook link on the church Web site in support of their hometown hero and his proud Pastor, Rick Bezet, flew to Los Angeles for the momentous finale. According to an ‘Idol’ insider, support for Kris most likely surged over the last week when Danny Gokey (who was extremely open about his involvement with the church) was voted off and thus Christians turned their full devotion to Allen who epitomizes the all-American, talented and moralistic role model.
“America had a grass roots campaign for a ‘good ole boy!’ There was just too much hype with Lambert. Everyone likes a person who just does the work,” said Michael Sands, leading Hollywood Media Image Consultant.
Snails on Face – It’s all over the news so here ya’ go. Eleven-year-old Fin Keheler, from Sandy, Utah, allowed 43 of the slimy mollusks to be put on his face Saturday. He wants the Guinness World Records to verify his effort. The Guinness web site says the record set in 2007 for snails on the face for 10 seconds is eight.
The boy says he has since learned the record was 36. Fin made three attempts on Saturday. Sitting back in a reclining chair, snails gathered from neighbors’ gardens were carefully placed on his face. Those that remained for at least 10 seconds were counted. His family is sending witness statements, video and media coverage to Guinness this week. Put together your own show’s book of records featuring your listeners. Things like your tallest and shortest listener, oldest, youngest, highest octave, longest hair, and the list of course could go on and on; makes for fun, local radio. Another fun thing to talk about is that record you held in elementary or high school. Face it, we love to talk about our “15 minutes.”
A British woman lost 55 pounds after she was hypnotized to believe that she had weight-loss surgery. Marion Cornes, 35, said she believed surgeons had placed a gastric band on her stomach shrinking it to the size of a golf ball after paying $1,580 for five sessions with a hypnotherapist. Cornes decided to have the procedure after her weight ballooned to 216 pounds. She was hypnotized and talked through every step of the surgery as if she was in an operating room. She was asked to handle a model of a stomach and gastric band, while the smells and sounds of an operating room were introduced into her room. “Bizarrely, I can remember every part of the “procedure” — including being wheeled into (the OR), the clink of the surgeon’s knife and even the smell of the anesthetic,” Cornes said.
She said she now feels full if she tries to eat anything other than a small portion of food. Too weird for me; I don’t need someone running around in my subconscious mind UNLESS the same procedure can cause one to believe he is a millionaire.
A new chocolate claiming to reduce acne will soon hit the shelves of Australia.
Manufacturers of Acne Care say pimple-plagued sufferers will experience dramatic results within just two weeks of eating the chocolate — if they eat between two and five chocolates per day. Developed by U.S.-based Frutels, the chocolate-coated treatment is believed to be the first of its kind. Packed with antioxidants and micro-nutrients, the chocolate is supposed to clarify the skin from within.
The company says it costs about $40 for a month’s supply. Could they put it in a Deep Fried Clams form or maybe Onion Rings? How did you take care of acne when you were a teen?
Here a few homemade remedies:
>Apply some cooked oatmeal to the face for 15 minutes and wash off. Oatmeal is an astringent, which can help draw impurities out of the skin. It usually takes a week or two for results to be seen.
>A quick remedy: Apply either apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to a clean skin, using a cotton ball.This will help flush out the pores and normalize the skin’s pH.
>Reduce milk consumption, as it may aggravate acne.
• Avoid chocolate, tea and coffee.
• Reduce the consumption of junk food, limit your total
fat intake to no more than 20% of calories for acne free skin.
Flu Free Guarantee - Desperate to woo back travelers who cancelled trips in the wake of Mexico’s swine flu outbreak, more than 20 coastal resort hotels have launched a “flu-free guarantee”: Guests who catch the H1N1 virus in Mexico — and have the blood test to prove it — can get their next three vacations for free. The initiative comes as the country’s tourism industry tallies staggering losses from a flu epidemic that Mexican officials first confirmed on April 23. The new flu guarantee is offered at Real Resorts, AMResorts, and Karisma’s El Dorado and Azul hotels, most in Cancun or the Riviera Maya. At least 25 Cancun hotels have closed because of low occupancy, and many are slashing rates.
Strange and humorous - One pooch activist has a dream: That one day, all dogs will be treated equal.
Genevieve Highpoint La Reine is a seven-pound papillon who’s penned Small Dog, Big Life: Memoirs Of A Furry Genius (Simon & Schuster), with the help of her translator, Dr. Dennis Fried.
According to Fried, he and Genevieve can communicate and she “barktated” her memoirs to him to let the world know her opinion of “stupid, pitiful humans.”
Genevieve’s biggest pet peeve is how much humans discriminate against dogs, who, frankly, do a lot for mankind.
She finds it demeaning that pooches are banned from certain places and that humans make dogs do tricks and play fetch.
To protect and advance canine rights, Genevieve has formed an activist group called “Dogs against Discrimination and Unfairness,” or DUDU.
Her first order of business is to eliminate degrading sports team nicknames like “Huskies,” and get humans to stop using the word “dog” in negative phrases like “you’re in the doghouse” or “she’s a real dog.”
Changes American Idol Should Make (MSNBC):
1. Never bring back a former Idol
When you parade the ghosts of Idols past before us, all it does is serve as a reminder for how unsuccessful Idols on the whole have been. For every Kelly Clarkson there are multiple versions of Taylor Hicks. This show is about looking forward, not back. When you give us past winners, you take away the illusion of success.
2. Rotate the judges
Once we get to the final 25, if it’s really America who decides the contestants’ fates, then why do all four judges need to be at the table? There is so little about this show that is unexpected — let’s make who shows up from one week to the next a surprise. And with three judges, that gives Paula Abdul (if she shows when she should) the chance to yammer on a little more.
3. Please dispense with the final song!
The only thing phenomenal about the final song of the competition — whether written by Kara DioGuardi or a competition winner — is how phenomenally bad it is. It’s tough enough to get excited watching the finale, aka “90 seconds of excitement packed into two hours that you’ll never be able to get back.” Why make it harder by forcing the finalists to choke out a tune that wouldn’t get them past the first round of auditions? And worse yet, record it as their first single, then stand by, watching no one buy it. If there is one thing all the judges agree on, it’s that song choice is everything. So I beg of you. Let. The. Singers. Choose.
Dull days affect marriage faster than fighting - Experts say that shared challenges and exciting diversions are what make relationships hot long after the wedding gown has been packed up and stored away. And the opposite, boredom and a dull, daily routine, can kill a marriage, squashing intimacy and romance. In fact, couples who say they are bored tend to grow increasingly unhappy, according to a study published this month in Psychological Science. Most research on long-term relationships has focused on eliminating problems such as conflict and tension, explains the new study’s lead author, Irene Tsapelas, a researcher in the psychology department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. But surveys have suggested that boredom may be even more corrosive to a relationship, she adds. Simple suggestion: go out and do novel, exciting things with each other. I try to keep boredom out of my marriage a lot, that’s why I bought an X-Box, a membership to a shooting range, and cable’s latest sports package. So really, what do you do? Take a class together, horse back riding, camping, dancing lessons, etc.
Don’t Let Kids Go Near E-Bay or TradeMe! - Three-year-old Pipi Quinlan bought a $15,600 bulldozer on auction website TradeMe, prompting immediate damage control by her mum when her purchase was revealed.
Parents Sarah and Reid Quinlan, of Stanmore Bay north of Auckland, were astonished to wake one morning to find Pipi had bought the huge excavating digger in a TradeMe auction.
The technically savvy kid had woken early and, with the rest of her family sound asleep, decided to play with the computer.
With a few clicks of the mouse she entered Internet Explorer and the Trade Me site her mother had already logged on to.
After a few more timely clicks, she had won the most recent auction listed on the site’s homepage.
It was for a Kobelco digger, a bulldozer, and she had it for nearly $16,000! -
“The first I knew about it was when I came down and opened up the computer,” says mum Sarah.
“I saw an email from TradeMe saying I had won an auction and another email from the seller saying something like ‘I think you’ll love this digger’.”
“Well, I had a few Duplo Lego play kits on my watch-list, so just assumed I’d won a digger toy-set,” she says.
“It wasn’t until I went back and re-read the emails that I saw $NZ20,000, and got the shock of my life,” says Sarah.
“I called my husband Reid over to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
“I asked him what a Kobelco was and he said ‘I think it’s an earthmoving digger’.”
“I jokingly said to Sarah, well you’ll have to move the Honda off the driveway to make way for the Kobelco,” says Reid. Sarah immediately called TradeMe and the seller to report what had happened. TradeMe has reimbursed the seller’s costs for listing the digger and the auction. While the seller wasn’t impressed with Pipi’s antics, he relisted the digger again for another auction. The Quinlans say most people see the funny side, with family and friends already joking about the incident.
WITH
JIM & KAREN
ON
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is National Wig Out day, a day to celebrate wigs bobs, and mullets.
Today is Bifocals Day
Today is National Vanilla Pudding Day.
Today is National Make a Memory Day. Do something silly with a child.
Buy-A-Musical Instrument Day - In the 6th grade my mom made me play the clarinet. It last one week. I used it mainly as a sword, gun and baseball bat. What’s your musical instrument story?
The Wright brothers patented the airplane on this day in 1906. Oddly enough, Orville and Wilbur did not agree on the main purpose of their invention. Orville thought the airplane was a great way to travel a long distance in a short time, but Wilbur saw it as a super way to sell millions of little bags of peanuts.
On this day in 1841 H.P. Kennedy of Philadelphia patented the tilt-back reclining chair. With a recliner you just lean back, relax, and do nothing. It's like having your own seat in Congress.
Today is the Feast Day of Saint Rita of Cascia. Rita is the patron saint of desperate cases and impossible situations. And I have a feeling she's got a full-time job just watching over this program.
On this day in 1892 a dentist named Dr. Sheffield invented the toothpaste tube. Let's all take off our caps to him.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood came together in 1967
MISTER ROGERS’ TRIVIA
–Fred Rogers was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963.
–When Mister Rogers came on TV singing “Won’t you be my neighbor”, many children who actually lived on his street used to yell at their televisions, “But you ARE our neighbor!”
–In May 2003 asteroid number 26858 was named ‘Misterrogers’ after him.
–The Pittsburgh Penguins, an NHL hockey team, made Fred Rogers an honorary captain in 1993.
–When he’s mad, Fred sometimes plays the piano and gets his feelings out through his fingers.
–Fred wrote all the songs on the show as well as the special operas.
–Fred has about 25 sweaters which he has worn over the years of the program.
–When Fred was young, he loved to ride the trolleys in Pittsburgh; that’s why there is a trolley on his program.
–Fred spoke French as well as English.
–His cardigan sweaters were mostly made by his mother.
–Fred was 6′ (1.83 m)
–He studied theology at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
–Fred Rogers was color blind (explains some of those sweaters)
THIS IS LIFE:
INDY 500 This Weekend
It’s such a dangerous race, to qualify you have to have two years experience in a preschool car pool. I say make the Indy 500 more interesting. How 'bout, every three laps, have a school crossing guard walk onto the track?
The Indy 500 is exciting: engines roaring ... tires screeching ... it's like 4:00 p.m. in a high school parking lot
Most guys will never know what it’s like to drive 200 miles an hour—unless the contractions are two seconds apart.
The Indy 500 is a welcome event. It's nice to see somebody besides us going around in circles.
The Indy 500 signals the beginning of summer and the end of a lot of good transmissions.
For the women who don't understand the Indy 500, let me explain it. You win the race by being the first one to drive 500 miles in a circle. It's sort of a speeded-up version of chauffeuring your kids around all day.
IN THE NEWS:
President Obama has found a way to quickly close Guantanamo Bay. He's going to turn it into a Pontiac dealership.
Vice President Biden is on a trip to Bosnia, Serbia, and Kosovo. The White House is calling it "Operation Keep Biden Away From a Microphone." He goes to Antarctica next.
It's a good news, bad news story for Procter and Gamble, makers of those fine artificial potato chip called Pringles.
The Daily Telegraph reports that an appeals court in Britain ruled yesterday that Pringles are technically, potato chips. They're really a combination of potatoes, fat and flour — 42 percent of it being potato. The court ruled that Pringles contained enough "potatoness," to be considered a potato chip.
The bad news: Food isn't usually taxed in the UK but potato chips happen to be an exception. The court ruling yesterday means Procter and Gamble will have to pay $155 million in back taxes and $31 million per year thereafter.
Something tells me the court's decision was based less on "potatoness" and more "taxiness”
Parenting.com asked a never ending question. Boys vs. Girls: Who’s Harder to Raise? Ask that question on a slow day and see what happens. A mom said this, “Never was the difference between the handling of boys vs. girls more humorously apparent than during a park visit a while back. I held Laurel’s hand as she crossed a suspended balance beam repeating, “Go slowly Laurel, be careful!” (The suspension cables looked particularly unforgiving.) Minutes later, as we crossed the next obstacle, we saw a father jumping up and down alongside his son (who was of a similar toddler/preschooler size) at the balance beam, saying “Go! Go! Go! Run across as fast as you can!”
Interesting Headline -‘Idol’ Upset: Did The Evangelical Christian Vote Push Kris Allen Over The Edge? So was it the Christian vote that prevailed in Allen’s favor?
The 23-year-old UCA student has been on the worship team at New Life Church for years and helps with their outreach programs, but unlike previous winners such as Jordin Sparks and Carrie Underwood who made their faith very well known, Allen consciously refrained from making mention of his virtuous values throughout the competition. “This is a singing competition, not a church thing,” Allen told Tarts earlier this week while Lambert added that the “vote is based on talent and performing, not religion.”
With Allen having shied away from the sectarian spotlight, his local church made up for it. The New Life Church in Greater Little Rock, Arkansas urged churchgoers to prayer and vote for the ‘Idol’ finalist, created a Facebook link on the church Web site in support of their hometown hero and his proud Pastor, Rick Bezet, flew to Los Angeles for the momentous finale. According to an ‘Idol’ insider, support for Kris most likely surged over the last week when Danny Gokey (who was extremely open about his involvement with the church) was voted off and thus Christians turned their full devotion to Allen who epitomizes the all-American, talented and moralistic role model.
“America had a grass roots campaign for a ‘good ole boy!’ There was just too much hype with Lambert. Everyone likes a person who just does the work,” said Michael Sands, leading Hollywood Media Image Consultant.
Snails on Face – It’s all over the news so here ya’ go. Eleven-year-old Fin Keheler, from Sandy, Utah, allowed 43 of the slimy mollusks to be put on his face Saturday. He wants the Guinness World Records to verify his effort. The Guinness web site says the record set in 2007 for snails on the face for 10 seconds is eight.
The boy says he has since learned the record was 36. Fin made three attempts on Saturday. Sitting back in a reclining chair, snails gathered from neighbors’ gardens were carefully placed on his face. Those that remained for at least 10 seconds were counted. His family is sending witness statements, video and media coverage to Guinness this week. Put together your own show’s book of records featuring your listeners. Things like your tallest and shortest listener, oldest, youngest, highest octave, longest hair, and the list of course could go on and on; makes for fun, local radio. Another fun thing to talk about is that record you held in elementary or high school. Face it, we love to talk about our “15 minutes.”
A British woman lost 55 pounds after she was hypnotized to believe that she had weight-loss surgery. Marion Cornes, 35, said she believed surgeons had placed a gastric band on her stomach shrinking it to the size of a golf ball after paying $1,580 for five sessions with a hypnotherapist. Cornes decided to have the procedure after her weight ballooned to 216 pounds. She was hypnotized and talked through every step of the surgery as if she was in an operating room. She was asked to handle a model of a stomach and gastric band, while the smells and sounds of an operating room were introduced into her room. “Bizarrely, I can remember every part of the “procedure” — including being wheeled into (the OR), the clink of the surgeon’s knife and even the smell of the anesthetic,” Cornes said.
She said she now feels full if she tries to eat anything other than a small portion of food. Too weird for me; I don’t need someone running around in my subconscious mind UNLESS the same procedure can cause one to believe he is a millionaire.
A new chocolate claiming to reduce acne will soon hit the shelves of Australia.
Manufacturers of Acne Care say pimple-plagued sufferers will experience dramatic results within just two weeks of eating the chocolate — if they eat between two and five chocolates per day. Developed by U.S.-based Frutels, the chocolate-coated treatment is believed to be the first of its kind. Packed with antioxidants and micro-nutrients, the chocolate is supposed to clarify the skin from within.
The company says it costs about $40 for a month’s supply. Could they put it in a Deep Fried Clams form or maybe Onion Rings? How did you take care of acne when you were a teen?
Here a few homemade remedies:
>Apply some cooked oatmeal to the face for 15 minutes and wash off. Oatmeal is an astringent, which can help draw impurities out of the skin. It usually takes a week or two for results to be seen.
>A quick remedy: Apply either apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to a clean skin, using a cotton ball.This will help flush out the pores and normalize the skin’s pH.
>Reduce milk consumption, as it may aggravate acne.
• Avoid chocolate, tea and coffee.
• Reduce the consumption of junk food, limit your total
fat intake to no more than 20% of calories for acne free skin.
Flu Free Guarantee - Desperate to woo back travelers who cancelled trips in the wake of Mexico’s swine flu outbreak, more than 20 coastal resort hotels have launched a “flu-free guarantee”: Guests who catch the H1N1 virus in Mexico — and have the blood test to prove it — can get their next three vacations for free. The initiative comes as the country’s tourism industry tallies staggering losses from a flu epidemic that Mexican officials first confirmed on April 23. The new flu guarantee is offered at Real Resorts, AMResorts, and Karisma’s El Dorado and Azul hotels, most in Cancun or the Riviera Maya. At least 25 Cancun hotels have closed because of low occupancy, and many are slashing rates.
Strange and humorous - One pooch activist has a dream: That one day, all dogs will be treated equal.
Genevieve Highpoint La Reine is a seven-pound papillon who’s penned Small Dog, Big Life: Memoirs Of A Furry Genius (Simon & Schuster), with the help of her translator, Dr. Dennis Fried.
According to Fried, he and Genevieve can communicate and she “barktated” her memoirs to him to let the world know her opinion of “stupid, pitiful humans.”
Genevieve’s biggest pet peeve is how much humans discriminate against dogs, who, frankly, do a lot for mankind.
She finds it demeaning that pooches are banned from certain places and that humans make dogs do tricks and play fetch.
To protect and advance canine rights, Genevieve has formed an activist group called “Dogs against Discrimination and Unfairness,” or DUDU.
Her first order of business is to eliminate degrading sports team nicknames like “Huskies,” and get humans to stop using the word “dog” in negative phrases like “you’re in the doghouse” or “she’s a real dog.”
Changes American Idol Should Make (MSNBC):
1. Never bring back a former Idol
When you parade the ghosts of Idols past before us, all it does is serve as a reminder for how unsuccessful Idols on the whole have been. For every Kelly Clarkson there are multiple versions of Taylor Hicks. This show is about looking forward, not back. When you give us past winners, you take away the illusion of success.
2. Rotate the judges
Once we get to the final 25, if it’s really America who decides the contestants’ fates, then why do all four judges need to be at the table? There is so little about this show that is unexpected — let’s make who shows up from one week to the next a surprise. And with three judges, that gives Paula Abdul (if she shows when she should) the chance to yammer on a little more.
3. Please dispense with the final song!
The only thing phenomenal about the final song of the competition — whether written by Kara DioGuardi or a competition winner — is how phenomenally bad it is. It’s tough enough to get excited watching the finale, aka “90 seconds of excitement packed into two hours that you’ll never be able to get back.” Why make it harder by forcing the finalists to choke out a tune that wouldn’t get them past the first round of auditions? And worse yet, record it as their first single, then stand by, watching no one buy it. If there is one thing all the judges agree on, it’s that song choice is everything. So I beg of you. Let. The. Singers. Choose.
Dull days affect marriage faster than fighting - Experts say that shared challenges and exciting diversions are what make relationships hot long after the wedding gown has been packed up and stored away. And the opposite, boredom and a dull, daily routine, can kill a marriage, squashing intimacy and romance. In fact, couples who say they are bored tend to grow increasingly unhappy, according to a study published this month in Psychological Science. Most research on long-term relationships has focused on eliminating problems such as conflict and tension, explains the new study’s lead author, Irene Tsapelas, a researcher in the psychology department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. But surveys have suggested that boredom may be even more corrosive to a relationship, she adds. Simple suggestion: go out and do novel, exciting things with each other. I try to keep boredom out of my marriage a lot, that’s why I bought an X-Box, a membership to a shooting range, and cable’s latest sports package. So really, what do you do? Take a class together, horse back riding, camping, dancing lessons, etc.
Don’t Let Kids Go Near E-Bay or TradeMe! - Three-year-old Pipi Quinlan bought a $15,600 bulldozer on auction website TradeMe, prompting immediate damage control by her mum when her purchase was revealed.
Parents Sarah and Reid Quinlan, of Stanmore Bay north of Auckland, were astonished to wake one morning to find Pipi had bought the huge excavating digger in a TradeMe auction.
The technically savvy kid had woken early and, with the rest of her family sound asleep, decided to play with the computer.
With a few clicks of the mouse she entered Internet Explorer and the Trade Me site her mother had already logged on to.
After a few more timely clicks, she had won the most recent auction listed on the site’s homepage.
It was for a Kobelco digger, a bulldozer, and she had it for nearly $16,000! -
“The first I knew about it was when I came down and opened up the computer,” says mum Sarah.
“I saw an email from TradeMe saying I had won an auction and another email from the seller saying something like ‘I think you’ll love this digger’.”
“Well, I had a few Duplo Lego play kits on my watch-list, so just assumed I’d won a digger toy-set,” she says.
“It wasn’t until I went back and re-read the emails that I saw $NZ20,000, and got the shock of my life,” says Sarah.
“I called my husband Reid over to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
“I asked him what a Kobelco was and he said ‘I think it’s an earthmoving digger’.”
“I jokingly said to Sarah, well you’ll have to move the Honda off the driveway to make way for the Kobelco,” says Reid. Sarah immediately called TradeMe and the seller to report what had happened. TradeMe has reimbursed the seller’s costs for listing the digger and the auction. While the seller wasn’t impressed with Pipi’s antics, he relisted the digger again for another auction. The Quinlans say most people see the funny side, with family and friends already joking about the incident.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
TODAY IS THURSDAY - MAY 21, 2009
THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Armed Forces Day - President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense.
American Red Cross established in 1881
Clara Barton organized the American Red Cross on this day in 1881. And since that day, Americans have not had to suffer through a single major disaster without coffee and doughnuts.
National Waitstaff Day
1918: The House of Representatives passes an amendment granting women the right to vote.
1927: Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly across the Atlantic (from New York to Paris) in his monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis.
1932: Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean (from Newfoundland to Ireland).
Sister Maria Hummel was born in Bavaria on this day in 1909. She taught art in kindergarten and drew the delightful pictures that inspired the famous Hummel figurines. She had nothing, and her life is commemorated in expensive art work. We have everything, and our lives are commemorated in huge credit card bills.
English poet Alexander Pope was born on this day in 1688. He was a real wiseacre, wrote things like: "A little learning is a dangerous thing." "To err is human, to forgive divine." "Never put off until tomorrow what you can forget altogether." Things like that.
On this day in 1985 Bobby Ewing died again on the TV show "Dallas." He had already died once before, but came back to life taking a shower. If I’d been dead for awhile, I think I’d want to take a shower, too.
THIS IS LIFE:
Avon Is Calling - As the economy gets ugly, droves of out-of-work Australians, male and female, are finding a career in beauty really pays. Avon, the largest direct selling beauty company in the world, has recruited more than 7,000 door-to-door saleswomen — and men — in February alone, as the global financial crisis deepens and Australia’s economy and jobless rate take a turn for the worse. The company, which has tens of thousands of representatives in Australia, said in addition to the usual stay-at-home mums looking for extra income, new recruits include female executives and financial professionals, as well as a few more men.
Benefits of having an Avon GUY selling to you:
1. all his beauty products are carried in his tool belt for easy access
2. doesn’t have to ask a man to open the jar of facial cream
3. suggests using a paint sprayer as an easier way to apply foundation
4. can apply sports analogies to beauty products at a moment’s notice when necessary
IN THE NEWS:
B of A Stock Sales
Bank of America has sold $13.5 billion worth of stock in the last few weeks, clearly proving that adult illiteracy is a growing problem worldwide.
Mortgage Monitor
The Obama administration is proposing one single government monitor for the mortgage industry. The way the U.S. banks are run, the only acceptable candidate is McGruff the crime dog.
The White House had a private screening of "Star Trek." You don't have to worry about someone talking though the movie at private screenings. That's why they didn’t invite Joe Biden.
Scientists say they have found the missing link. The link between man and monkey. It's a little monkey. It lived on mostly twigs and berries — which makes it the direct ancestor of today's supermodel. Twig and berries and that’s it…that is definitely not where I came from. Scientists have determined that the monkey fossil is 47 million years old. It was verified today by Larry King who was married to the monkey.
NEW YORK — After a plunge in gas prices, Americans are expected to hit the highways in larger numbers this Memorial Day, giving the traditional start of the driving season a boost for the first time since 2005, AAA said Tuesday. An estimated 32.4 million people - roughly 11 percent of the U.S. population - will take some kind of trip over the holiday, most of them on the road. That’s an increase of 1.5 percent from last year’s dismal travel season, when pump prices rose above $4 a gallon and millions of people stayed put. On Tuesday, retail gas prices averaged $2.25 a gallon, about $1.47 a gallon cheaper than a year ago. Visit www.momsminivan.com for a bunch of ideas for car games for young and old. Nowadays kids just bring their PSP’s or watch a DVD. Maybe you can buy a DVD or PSP game that has to do with kids playing car games! The main game we would play was “Don’t Touch Me.” It always transitioned to the classic, “Mom, He Touched Me” Game and the ever popular “Mom, He Hit Me” game.
Which state has the biggest geography whiz? The answer is Texas, as 13-year-old Eric Yang proved Wednesday when he won the National Geographic Bee in Washington. The teen will take a $25,000 college scholarship home to The Colony, a community north of Dallas. Let’s see if you can answer the third question that was asked in the tiebreaker round: Timis County shares its name with a tributary of the Danube and is located in the western part of which European country? Eric gave the correct answer — Romania. His opponent, 14-year-old Arjun Kandaswamy, of Beaverton, Ore., wrote down “Hungary.” I would have said New York. When in doubt ALWAYS say “New York.”
Hilarious idea! - Strict parents have the perfect way of making sure their kids do their homework - a ball and chain has been created that counts down a reasonable study time before unlocking. Parents just put in a desired study time on the “Study Ball” and attach the more than 20 pound ball to their kids’ ankle. A red digital display counts down the time and the chain unlocks and beeps when time is up. The ball can’t be locked on for more than four hours and there is a safety key that lets parents open the chain at anytime. The ball’s designer says he came up with the idea after a friend compared studying to jail.
The item is for sale online for about $90.
Amazing, beautiful story - (CNN) — For years, Candace Eloph searched for her half-brother, who was given up for adoption in 1977. She found him — living across the street. “I never thought it would happen like this. Never. Ever,” Eloph of Shreveport said. Three decades ago, Eloph’s mother gave birth to a boy at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. She was 16 and gave him up for adoption. “They took him from me,” said Eloph’s mother, Joellen Cottrell. “I only got to hold him for a split second.” Cottrell searched for her son over the years, without success. She eventually left Louisiana and had other children. But she did not keep her son a secret. “My girls always knew they had a brother,” she told KTBS. “I always told them. They knew it from the very beginning. And I’ve always looked for him.” Fast forward three decades.
Eloph moved into a house in Shreveport
Across the street lived a 32-year-old man named Jamie Wheat.
“We were sitting one day, talking, and she said, ‘You know what? I had a
brother born January 27, 1977, that was adopted,’” Wheat said. “I was like,
I’m adopted.
”
Surprised, Eloph mentioned that her mother was 16 at the time. His mother
was 16, too, Wheat replied.
All the details fit, and Cottrell and Wheat decided to take a DNA test.
The results: There’s a 99.995 percent probability that the two are related.
Wheat’s adoptive parents are excited about this new stage in their son’s
life.
“It just almost knocked me out for the joy,” Wheat’s adoptive mother, Ann,
told KTBS.
Added his adoptive father, Ted Wheat: “It was just surprising that they lived across the street from us for two-and-a-half years. When they told us, we said, ‘This is the greatest news it could be.’” Reunited with his birth mother, Jamie Wheat plans to make up for lost time. ”I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me,” he said. “I can move forward. Like a new beginning.”
JERUSALEM - Archaeologists digging on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives have discovered a nearly 3,000-year-old jar handle bearing ancient Hebrew script, a find significantly older than most inscribed artifacts unearthed in the
ancient city, an archaeologist said. The Iron Age handle is inscribed with the Hebrew name Menachem, which was the name of an Israelite king and is still common among Jews. The inscription also includes a partly intact letter, the Hebrew character “lamed,” meaning “to.” That suggests the jar was a gift to someone named Menachem, said Ron Beeri, who directed the excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Ducks Like Water - Oxford University defends three-year research into the animals’ behaviour. Two scientists from the University of Oxford gave a lucky group of farm ducks access to a pond, a water trough and a shower. They discovered that the ducks spent an awful lot of time under the shower, sometimes just standing there, others drinking from it.
Perhaps inevitably, the revelation that ducks seem to enjoy water washing over them has not impressed everyone. Susie Squire of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, called the research a ” waste of money”. The cost? Over $400,000! Marian Stamp Dawkins, professor of animal behaviour at Oxford, said many would have expected the ducks to spend most of their time swimming in the pond. In fact, they seemed to prefer the shower to the pond, suggesting they were not very bothered about swimming. She said it was unfair to portray the study as finding out simply that ducks liked water. It had been carried out to find the best way of providing water to farmed ducks because ponds quickly became dirty, unhygienic and took up a lot of water, making them environmentally questionable. Next they’ll study if fish like water and if the Pope goes to church.
I Love Irony - How much packaging does it take to promote energy conservation? Lots, evidently, if you’re Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership. The partnership, which provides incentives for energy conservation in new and existing large buildings, issued a one-page press release yesterday. But it wasn’t the release that was eye-catching.
It arrived in a large brown paper envelope, padded with plastic bubble wrap.
Inside the envelope was a cardboard box.
Inside the box, stuffed with tissue paper, was a green Lego toy, representing a building, with the Better Buildings Partnership logo on it.
Also in the box was a color picture of the Lego toy; a piece of paper with the Better Buildings Partnership logo; and a one-page release about the Better Buildings Partnership. One project manager said, “I’ll have to go back to the team and talk about how the packaging was put together,” she said. “That’s a valid point, and I’ll definitely talk to them about that.”
Where’s The Best Pizza in the U.S.? - GQ Magazine food writer Alan Richman singles out Mortadella Pie from Great Lake pizzeria at 1477 West Balmoral Avenue as having the best he’s tasted after traveling 20,000 miles searching for the perfect pie.
Richman writes that the pizza “represents everything irresistible about the new American style of pizza-making.” Second on the list was the Plain Pie from Lucali pizzeria in Brooklyn, and third place was awarded to the Panna Pie at Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco. Best pizza I had was in Wichita, KS. They baked it over an open flame and you could add anything to it! Mine was an oyster and spinach pizza with Alfredo sauce. It was awesome. They’re out of business now. What’s the hot spot in your town and why?
Four in ten adults recall their school bus driver’s name - fun little tidbit from First Student, Inc., the nation’s biggest provider of school bus transportation.
They had a research firm survey 1,000 people to ask them what they remembered about their experiences riding a school bus. Forty-two percent of women and 35 percent of men who rode a bus to school said they remembered the name of their school bus drivers. I remember my 7th grade bus driver - Jenny Bean. Short, stocky lady who fell in love with another bus driver for our school. All the kids found out about the budding love affair and always hooted and hollared and Jenny and her bus driving boyfriend when they would meet in front of the school.
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Armed Forces Day - President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense.
American Red Cross established in 1881
Clara Barton organized the American Red Cross on this day in 1881. And since that day, Americans have not had to suffer through a single major disaster without coffee and doughnuts.
National Waitstaff Day
1918: The House of Representatives passes an amendment granting women the right to vote.
1927: Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly across the Atlantic (from New York to Paris) in his monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis.
1932: Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean (from Newfoundland to Ireland).
Sister Maria Hummel was born in Bavaria on this day in 1909. She taught art in kindergarten and drew the delightful pictures that inspired the famous Hummel figurines. She had nothing, and her life is commemorated in expensive art work. We have everything, and our lives are commemorated in huge credit card bills.
English poet Alexander Pope was born on this day in 1688. He was a real wiseacre, wrote things like: "A little learning is a dangerous thing." "To err is human, to forgive divine." "Never put off until tomorrow what you can forget altogether." Things like that.
On this day in 1985 Bobby Ewing died again on the TV show "Dallas." He had already died once before, but came back to life taking a shower. If I’d been dead for awhile, I think I’d want to take a shower, too.
THIS IS LIFE:
Avon Is Calling - As the economy gets ugly, droves of out-of-work Australians, male and female, are finding a career in beauty really pays. Avon, the largest direct selling beauty company in the world, has recruited more than 7,000 door-to-door saleswomen — and men — in February alone, as the global financial crisis deepens and Australia’s economy and jobless rate take a turn for the worse. The company, which has tens of thousands of representatives in Australia, said in addition to the usual stay-at-home mums looking for extra income, new recruits include female executives and financial professionals, as well as a few more men.
Benefits of having an Avon GUY selling to you:
1. all his beauty products are carried in his tool belt for easy access
2. doesn’t have to ask a man to open the jar of facial cream
3. suggests using a paint sprayer as an easier way to apply foundation
4. can apply sports analogies to beauty products at a moment’s notice when necessary
IN THE NEWS:
B of A Stock Sales
Bank of America has sold $13.5 billion worth of stock in the last few weeks, clearly proving that adult illiteracy is a growing problem worldwide.
Mortgage Monitor
The Obama administration is proposing one single government monitor for the mortgage industry. The way the U.S. banks are run, the only acceptable candidate is McGruff the crime dog.
The White House had a private screening of "Star Trek." You don't have to worry about someone talking though the movie at private screenings. That's why they didn’t invite Joe Biden.
Scientists say they have found the missing link. The link between man and monkey. It's a little monkey. It lived on mostly twigs and berries — which makes it the direct ancestor of today's supermodel. Twig and berries and that’s it…that is definitely not where I came from. Scientists have determined that the monkey fossil is 47 million years old. It was verified today by Larry King who was married to the monkey.
NEW YORK — After a plunge in gas prices, Americans are expected to hit the highways in larger numbers this Memorial Day, giving the traditional start of the driving season a boost for the first time since 2005, AAA said Tuesday. An estimated 32.4 million people - roughly 11 percent of the U.S. population - will take some kind of trip over the holiday, most of them on the road. That’s an increase of 1.5 percent from last year’s dismal travel season, when pump prices rose above $4 a gallon and millions of people stayed put. On Tuesday, retail gas prices averaged $2.25 a gallon, about $1.47 a gallon cheaper than a year ago. Visit www.momsminivan.com for a bunch of ideas for car games for young and old. Nowadays kids just bring their PSP’s or watch a DVD. Maybe you can buy a DVD or PSP game that has to do with kids playing car games! The main game we would play was “Don’t Touch Me.” It always transitioned to the classic, “Mom, He Touched Me” Game and the ever popular “Mom, He Hit Me” game.
Which state has the biggest geography whiz? The answer is Texas, as 13-year-old Eric Yang proved Wednesday when he won the National Geographic Bee in Washington. The teen will take a $25,000 college scholarship home to The Colony, a community north of Dallas. Let’s see if you can answer the third question that was asked in the tiebreaker round: Timis County shares its name with a tributary of the Danube and is located in the western part of which European country? Eric gave the correct answer — Romania. His opponent, 14-year-old Arjun Kandaswamy, of Beaverton, Ore., wrote down “Hungary.” I would have said New York. When in doubt ALWAYS say “New York.”
Hilarious idea! - Strict parents have the perfect way of making sure their kids do their homework - a ball and chain has been created that counts down a reasonable study time before unlocking. Parents just put in a desired study time on the “Study Ball” and attach the more than 20 pound ball to their kids’ ankle. A red digital display counts down the time and the chain unlocks and beeps when time is up. The ball can’t be locked on for more than four hours and there is a safety key that lets parents open the chain at anytime. The ball’s designer says he came up with the idea after a friend compared studying to jail.
The item is for sale online for about $90.
Amazing, beautiful story - (CNN) — For years, Candace Eloph searched for her half-brother, who was given up for adoption in 1977. She found him — living across the street. “I never thought it would happen like this. Never. Ever,” Eloph of Shreveport said. Three decades ago, Eloph’s mother gave birth to a boy at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. She was 16 and gave him up for adoption. “They took him from me,” said Eloph’s mother, Joellen Cottrell. “I only got to hold him for a split second.” Cottrell searched for her son over the years, without success. She eventually left Louisiana and had other children. But she did not keep her son a secret. “My girls always knew they had a brother,” she told KTBS. “I always told them. They knew it from the very beginning. And I’ve always looked for him.” Fast forward three decades.
Eloph moved into a house in Shreveport
Across the street lived a 32-year-old man named Jamie Wheat.
“We were sitting one day, talking, and she said, ‘You know what? I had a
brother born January 27, 1977, that was adopted,’” Wheat said. “I was like,
I’m adopted.
”
Surprised, Eloph mentioned that her mother was 16 at the time. His mother
was 16, too, Wheat replied.
All the details fit, and Cottrell and Wheat decided to take a DNA test.
The results: There’s a 99.995 percent probability that the two are related.
Wheat’s adoptive parents are excited about this new stage in their son’s
life.
“It just almost knocked me out for the joy,” Wheat’s adoptive mother, Ann,
told KTBS.
Added his adoptive father, Ted Wheat: “It was just surprising that they lived across the street from us for two-and-a-half years. When they told us, we said, ‘This is the greatest news it could be.’” Reunited with his birth mother, Jamie Wheat plans to make up for lost time. ”I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me,” he said. “I can move forward. Like a new beginning.”
JERUSALEM - Archaeologists digging on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives have discovered a nearly 3,000-year-old jar handle bearing ancient Hebrew script, a find significantly older than most inscribed artifacts unearthed in the
ancient city, an archaeologist said. The Iron Age handle is inscribed with the Hebrew name Menachem, which was the name of an Israelite king and is still common among Jews. The inscription also includes a partly intact letter, the Hebrew character “lamed,” meaning “to.” That suggests the jar was a gift to someone named Menachem, said Ron Beeri, who directed the excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Ducks Like Water - Oxford University defends three-year research into the animals’ behaviour. Two scientists from the University of Oxford gave a lucky group of farm ducks access to a pond, a water trough and a shower. They discovered that the ducks spent an awful lot of time under the shower, sometimes just standing there, others drinking from it.
Perhaps inevitably, the revelation that ducks seem to enjoy water washing over them has not impressed everyone. Susie Squire of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, called the research a ” waste of money”. The cost? Over $400,000! Marian Stamp Dawkins, professor of animal behaviour at Oxford, said many would have expected the ducks to spend most of their time swimming in the pond. In fact, they seemed to prefer the shower to the pond, suggesting they were not very bothered about swimming. She said it was unfair to portray the study as finding out simply that ducks liked water. It had been carried out to find the best way of providing water to farmed ducks because ponds quickly became dirty, unhygienic and took up a lot of water, making them environmentally questionable. Next they’ll study if fish like water and if the Pope goes to church.
I Love Irony - How much packaging does it take to promote energy conservation? Lots, evidently, if you’re Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership. The partnership, which provides incentives for energy conservation in new and existing large buildings, issued a one-page press release yesterday. But it wasn’t the release that was eye-catching.
It arrived in a large brown paper envelope, padded with plastic bubble wrap.
Inside the envelope was a cardboard box.
Inside the box, stuffed with tissue paper, was a green Lego toy, representing a building, with the Better Buildings Partnership logo on it.
Also in the box was a color picture of the Lego toy; a piece of paper with the Better Buildings Partnership logo; and a one-page release about the Better Buildings Partnership. One project manager said, “I’ll have to go back to the team and talk about how the packaging was put together,” she said. “That’s a valid point, and I’ll definitely talk to them about that.”
Where’s The Best Pizza in the U.S.? - GQ Magazine food writer Alan Richman singles out Mortadella Pie from Great Lake pizzeria at 1477 West Balmoral Avenue as having the best he’s tasted after traveling 20,000 miles searching for the perfect pie.
Richman writes that the pizza “represents everything irresistible about the new American style of pizza-making.” Second on the list was the Plain Pie from Lucali pizzeria in Brooklyn, and third place was awarded to the Panna Pie at Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco. Best pizza I had was in Wichita, KS. They baked it over an open flame and you could add anything to it! Mine was an oyster and spinach pizza with Alfredo sauce. It was awesome. They’re out of business now. What’s the hot spot in your town and why?
Four in ten adults recall their school bus driver’s name - fun little tidbit from First Student, Inc., the nation’s biggest provider of school bus transportation.
They had a research firm survey 1,000 people to ask them what they remembered about their experiences riding a school bus. Forty-two percent of women and 35 percent of men who rode a bus to school said they remembered the name of their school bus drivers. I remember my 7th grade bus driver - Jenny Bean. Short, stocky lady who fell in love with another bus driver for our school. All the kids found out about the budding love affair and always hooted and hollared and Jenny and her bus driving boyfriend when they would meet in front of the school.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY - MAY 20, 2009
THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is Go Fly A Kite With the Kids Day.
Today is Turn Beauty Inside Out Day.
Christopher Columbus died on this day in 1506. Chris discovered America after sailing 5,000 miles in three small galleons. And that's a lot of miles to the galleon.
Dolly Madison, the wife of U.S. President James Madison, was born on this day in 1768. Talk about a great cook! Some of her cupcakes are still fresh.
On this day in 1927 Charles Lindbergh began the first solo flight across the Atlantic; took him 33½ hours. And on this same day in 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly the Atlantic alone -- in only 15 hours. Proving once again women are twice as fast as men -- if we have five years to get ready.
THIS IS LIFE:
Last night’s American Idol update
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "American Idol" finalists Kris Allen and Adam Lambert don't want to get personal.
The singers told a throng of media gathered Monday outside the Nokia Theatre, where the duo will duke it out during the show's two-night finale on Tuesday and Wednesday, that they hope viewers will base their votes for the next "Idol" on performance alone.
"For me, I hope that having the Christian vote doesn't help with anything," said Allen, a 23-year-old college student who has worked as a worship leader at the New Life Church in his hometown of Conway, Ark. "I hope it has to do with your talent and the performance that you give and the package that you have. It's not about religion and all that kind of stuff."
Lambert, a 27-year-old theater actor from San Diego who once worked in the Los Angeles cast of "Wicked," heartily agreed. He said he does not think the contest "has anything to do with your religious background, what color you are, your gender. It doesn't have anything to do with that. It's about music. That's really important to keep in mind."
So is your class planning a reunion this year?
I fainted at my last class reunion. It was probably the two-week hunger strike to get down two sizes that did it.
IN THE NEWS:
Last Saturday, President Obama went to daughters Malia and Sasha's soccer game. He went in Minivan One.
President Barack Obama will restart military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees. He says they will have new rights. Like they can choose their own attorneys. There is already a problem. One detainee has requested Denny Crane.
General Motors is telling about 1,100 dealers their franchises will be terminated late next year. The company is shrinking. To reflect a smaller company, there is even talk of a name change from the original GMC - "General Motors Corporation" - to "Greatly Minimized Corporation."
You see, they still keep the GMC.
(Why do I have to constantly explain my jokes around here?)
Even "American Idols" are not exempted from swine flu checks.
Philippine health authorities had to chase down Missouri's David Cook and David Archuleta, the winner and the runner-up of last season's TV singing contest, to have them fill out a health checklist and report their temperatures at least twice a day before their open-air concert this Saturday. A spokesman from the quarantine bureau said the celebrities rushed through the airport Wednesday without completing health checks that are mandatory for everyone entering the country. Officials caught up with them in their hotel rooms Thursday and reminded them that they can be arrested if they do not cooperate! They were briefed about keeping a distance of six feet from other people, what to do if they exhibit flu-like symptoms, urged to use hand sanitizers and other "little things that their handlers may forget."
Have you ever wished you were taller? Well, here’s your chance!
A Seattle designer has come up with the ultimate gadget for people who would like to be taller and more graceful - horse leg extensions. Kim Graham's Digtiigrade Leg Extensions add 14 inches of height to the wearer. The fine art sculptor says the steel extensions are much more than just stilts and insists: "They give a person the uncanny and graceful appearance of an animal." They're made of steel, cable, foam, and rigid plastic. The legs have spring loaded hooves for those requiring a little extra bounce.
The annual "Click-it-or-Ticket" campaign is underway as police across the country step up enforcement of seat belt laws.
Seat belt use is now nationally at 83 percent but experts say too many teenagers still don't use their seat belts. In fact, the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration says of all 16-to-20-year-olds killed in traffic accidents, more than half weren't wearing a seat belt
Here's a surprise — teen girls text more than teenage boys. Duh!
New study co-released by Allstate and the National Organizations for Youth Safety shows teenage girls are much more likely to engage in the risky behavior of texting while driving, despite the fact that 87-percent of teens overall think that driving and texting is dangerous.
So what percentage of teens text while behind the wheel? According to the survey, 80-percent of girls and 58-percent of boys. And those are the ones who admitted to it.
There's a new online payment option for kids who like to shop on the internet — but who have no money.
It's a button called "Bill My Parents." Click on it and an e-mail is automatically sent to the parents along with an optional note from the child describing why he or she needs that item. Parents can accept and then give a credit card number or turn the request down.
Quick! Make friends with BRIAN BURNIE. He's an English billionaire that's giving away his money as fast as he can. The London Telegraph reports the 64-year-old has cancer, and is trying to sell off his assets before he dies.
Brian says "My ambition is to die penniless. We come into this world with nothing and we should leave with nothing." Cancer research and treatment is near and dear to him, obviously. Brian hopes that bleeding away cash will "mushroom across the country," inspiring other rich folks to take nothing to the grave. He's got at least $24-million more dollars to go until he achieves his last wish.
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is Go Fly A Kite With the Kids Day.
Today is Turn Beauty Inside Out Day.
Christopher Columbus died on this day in 1506. Chris discovered America after sailing 5,000 miles in three small galleons. And that's a lot of miles to the galleon.
Dolly Madison, the wife of U.S. President James Madison, was born on this day in 1768. Talk about a great cook! Some of her cupcakes are still fresh.
On this day in 1927 Charles Lindbergh began the first solo flight across the Atlantic; took him 33½ hours. And on this same day in 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly the Atlantic alone -- in only 15 hours. Proving once again women are twice as fast as men -- if we have five years to get ready.
THIS IS LIFE:
Last night’s American Idol update
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "American Idol" finalists Kris Allen and Adam Lambert don't want to get personal.
The singers told a throng of media gathered Monday outside the Nokia Theatre, where the duo will duke it out during the show's two-night finale on Tuesday and Wednesday, that they hope viewers will base their votes for the next "Idol" on performance alone.
"For me, I hope that having the Christian vote doesn't help with anything," said Allen, a 23-year-old college student who has worked as a worship leader at the New Life Church in his hometown of Conway, Ark. "I hope it has to do with your talent and the performance that you give and the package that you have. It's not about religion and all that kind of stuff."
Lambert, a 27-year-old theater actor from San Diego who once worked in the Los Angeles cast of "Wicked," heartily agreed. He said he does not think the contest "has anything to do with your religious background, what color you are, your gender. It doesn't have anything to do with that. It's about music. That's really important to keep in mind."
So is your class planning a reunion this year?
I fainted at my last class reunion. It was probably the two-week hunger strike to get down two sizes that did it.
IN THE NEWS:
Last Saturday, President Obama went to daughters Malia and Sasha's soccer game. He went in Minivan One.
President Barack Obama will restart military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees. He says they will have new rights. Like they can choose their own attorneys. There is already a problem. One detainee has requested Denny Crane.
General Motors is telling about 1,100 dealers their franchises will be terminated late next year. The company is shrinking. To reflect a smaller company, there is even talk of a name change from the original GMC - "General Motors Corporation" - to "Greatly Minimized Corporation."
You see, they still keep the GMC.
(Why do I have to constantly explain my jokes around here?)
Even "American Idols" are not exempted from swine flu checks.
Philippine health authorities had to chase down Missouri's David Cook and David Archuleta, the winner and the runner-up of last season's TV singing contest, to have them fill out a health checklist and report their temperatures at least twice a day before their open-air concert this Saturday. A spokesman from the quarantine bureau said the celebrities rushed through the airport Wednesday without completing health checks that are mandatory for everyone entering the country. Officials caught up with them in their hotel rooms Thursday and reminded them that they can be arrested if they do not cooperate! They were briefed about keeping a distance of six feet from other people, what to do if they exhibit flu-like symptoms, urged to use hand sanitizers and other "little things that their handlers may forget."
Have you ever wished you were taller? Well, here’s your chance!
A Seattle designer has come up with the ultimate gadget for people who would like to be taller and more graceful - horse leg extensions. Kim Graham's Digtiigrade Leg Extensions add 14 inches of height to the wearer. The fine art sculptor says the steel extensions are much more than just stilts and insists: "They give a person the uncanny and graceful appearance of an animal." They're made of steel, cable, foam, and rigid plastic. The legs have spring loaded hooves for those requiring a little extra bounce.
The annual "Click-it-or-Ticket" campaign is underway as police across the country step up enforcement of seat belt laws.
Seat belt use is now nationally at 83 percent but experts say too many teenagers still don't use their seat belts. In fact, the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration says of all 16-to-20-year-olds killed in traffic accidents, more than half weren't wearing a seat belt
Here's a surprise — teen girls text more than teenage boys. Duh!
New study co-released by Allstate and the National Organizations for Youth Safety shows teenage girls are much more likely to engage in the risky behavior of texting while driving, despite the fact that 87-percent of teens overall think that driving and texting is dangerous.
So what percentage of teens text while behind the wheel? According to the survey, 80-percent of girls and 58-percent of boys. And those are the ones who admitted to it.
There's a new online payment option for kids who like to shop on the internet — but who have no money.
It's a button called "Bill My Parents." Click on it and an e-mail is automatically sent to the parents along with an optional note from the child describing why he or she needs that item. Parents can accept and then give a credit card number or turn the request down.
Quick! Make friends with BRIAN BURNIE. He's an English billionaire that's giving away his money as fast as he can. The London Telegraph reports the 64-year-old has cancer, and is trying to sell off his assets before he dies.
Brian says "My ambition is to die penniless. We come into this world with nothing and we should leave with nothing." Cancer research and treatment is near and dear to him, obviously. Brian hopes that bleeding away cash will "mushroom across the country," inspiring other rich folks to take nothing to the grave. He's got at least $24-million more dollars to go until he achieves his last wish.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
TODAY IS MONDAY - MAY 18, 2009
THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Buckle Up America Week
National Backyard Games Week
National Transportation Week
Memorial Day weekend is coming up and it’s traditionally the day people break out their boats on the lakes. It also happens to be Safe Boating Week.
This is International Pickle Week – A time to celebrate the eating of them or if you have ever been in one. Personally, I get into more “jams” then I do “pickles”.
Today is International Museum Day. It's also Visit Your Relative Day, so you can kill two birds with one stone by going to a museum and visiting your mummy.
Today is Visit Your Relatives Day, the beginning of the family reunion season. Of course, if everybody did visit their relatives today, nobody would be home for their relatives to visit.
This is National Public Works Week. Heck, the public works every week. Why not have something different like Government Works Week?
No Dirty Dishes Day all hail the paper plate!
2004 - Randy Johnson, age 40, became the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game. Many men in their forties relive that dream every weekend with Nintendo Wii Sports.
IN THE NEWS:
GM Dead Letters
About 1,000 GM dealers will get UPS letters this afternoon, informing them that they're going to be shut down. Of course GM dealers are used to getting bad news on Friday afternoons, that when they're usually informed of the latest involuntary GM car recall.
Insurers Bailed Out
The U.S. Treasury is giving $22 billion of bailout money to several life insurance companies. When asked why they didn't have some kind of emergency fund for the economic downturn, the insurance company executives said they didn't want to waste money on some crazy insurance policy.
Insurers Bailed Out II
The U.S. Treasury is giving $22 billion of bailout money to several life insurance companies. In return, those companies have promised never to send a salesmen to any Treasury official's home ever again.
President Obama held a poetry night the other night at the White House. When former President Bush heard about it he said, "Now that's torture."
President Obama has reversed direction, saying we should not release dozens of interrogation photos. The matter has not been decided yet. I understand the photos are being reviewed by Donald Trump.I think all this publicity has gone to Trump's head. Today he held a press conference and said some Burger King guy could keep his crown.
Interesting - Recession Items Flying off the Shelves - It’s not all doom and gloom in the U.S. economy. Some products are bucking the recession and flying off store shelves. Sales of chocolate and running shoes are up. Gold coins are selling like hot cakes. So are gardening seeds. Tanning products are piling up in shopping carts; maybe more people are finding color in a bottle than from sun-worshipping on a faraway beach. Strong sales of Spam, Dinty Moore stew and chili. Recession shoppers also are drawn to items that make them feel safe, both personally and financially.
“The focus on the family hearth is something that has happened in nearly every recession. It’s, ‘How can I have more fun at home?”‘ said Paco Underhill, whose company, Envirosell, monitors the behavior of shoppers and sellers across the U.S. and in other countries.
“People are much more focused on their homes and their immediate happiness and they’re buying things that they can use themselves — seeds, fishing equipment. Lipstick and chocolate are small rewards that make you feel better.”
This nasty recession we’re in has millions of people scaling back their summer vacation plans, but there is one growth area in the travel industry that seems to suit the times perfectly. Campgrounds are going gangbusters, reporting a surge of visitors who can’t afford to go the standard air-car-hotel route this year. As a nifty NPR story points out, tent camping is up by 10% this year, and RV camping is robust as well, reflecting a broad trend toward modest, inexpensive vacations close to home. If the economy remains depressed, could this be the summer that old school camping reasserts itself as the quintessential family vacation?
Here are some camping tips:
1. When using a public campground, a tuba placed on your picnic table will keep the campsites on either side vacant.
2. The guitar of the noisy teenager at the next campsite makes excellent kindling.
3. Enough dirt will get tracked into the tent on the first day out, that you can grow the food you need for the rest of the trip in rows between sleeping bags.
4. You will lose the little toothpick in your Swiss Army knife as soon as you open the box.
Twitter News - There’s a grey kitty with white spots named Sockington — @Sockington on Twitter — that just cruised past the 500,000 follower mark without barely mussing his whiskers. Known as Socks for short, the kitty lives near Boston with his human, Jason Scott. Check out this account of the cat’s triumph.
As of this morning, 502,110 people were apparently spellbound from such Tweets from Sockington:
“and so I slept and then I walked around and then I slept again and then I darted into another room for no apparent reason and just stared for a while…”
Just plain amusing - David Grant is a vet who answers questions in his towns local newspaper. The most recent question: I HAVE two four-year-old guinea pigs. They are female litter mates but one is heavier than the other and has developed slightly sore feet. Could being overweight be the cause and have you any suggestions as to what could be wrong? How on earth can you tell a guinea pig has sore feet?! Would you notice a difference in it’s walk? Are her shoelaces left untied for a looser fit? OH, the answer if a listener actually wants to know…I WOULD have both guinea pigs checked over and weighed. Your vet will want to examine their diet and the cage that you keep them in. Good quality hay and special commercial guinea pig food plus greens should contain adequate amounts of vitamin C.
Idol Chat - We all have our reasons why one or the other will win so here’s why Adam won’t win and why Kris won’t win according to USA Today:
Adam Lambert’s cons include:
-Blue hair, eyeliner and nail polish.
-Fan backlash that comes with Simon Cowell and media declaring Adam the winner too early.
-Gokey’s fans are more likely to root for Kris now that their man is out.
-His professional experience in musicals and on stage bothers some fans who want “Idol” to crown a true amateur.
Kris Allen’s cons include:
-Married status hasn’t helped him win crucial female votes.
-He was never one of the early anointed favorites, missed out on judges approval
-Probably has never played a venue the size of the Nokia Theater L.A. live.
-Low-key married dude from rural Arkansas = terrible tabloid material
The U.S. Mint introduced its new Indiana Lincoln penny Thursday in Spencer County, Lincoln’s childhood home. The one cent coin is the second in a four part series depicting the stages of Lincoln’s life, and hundreds were lined up to get them. The front still retains the image of Lincoln, but the tails side shows an image of a young Abe sitting on a log reading a book, a perfect illustration of Lincoln’s love of books and his belief in the value of education. To learn how you can pinch your pennies and save visit www.pinchingyourpennies.com It features sharing ways on how to save money in all aspects of life, ready-made shopping lists, online deals and more. Anybody save pennies or have you forgotten that it actually has some monetary value?
Top 10 World’s Happiest Places from Forbes - According to a new report released by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based group of 30 countries with democratic governments that provides economic and social statistics and data, happiness levels are highest in northern European countries.
Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list, ranking first, second and third, respectively. Outside Europe, New Zealand and Canada landed at Nos. 8 and 6, respectively. The U.S. did not crack the top 10. Switzerland placed seventh and Belgium placed tenth. The poll asked respondents whether they had experienced six different forms of positive or negative feelings within the last day.
Some sample questions: Did you enjoy something you did yesterday? Were you proud of something you did yesterday? Did you learn something yesterday? Were you treated with respect yesterday? I think the answer to those questions depends on what day there asked on. If asked on a Monday then most likely yesterday, being a Sunday, you did something fun, learned something at church, were treated with respect at church, and so on. Ask me on a Sunday and my answers will be even better, but please don’t ask me on a Tuesday which would force me to recall yesterday which was a Monday and we all know how Monday can go!
Food Fight! -Andrew King got a text message in his third-period class: There’s gonna be a food fight at lunch.
Other Jackson High School students heard the rumors in the halls. So when first lunch period began around 11 a.m. Thursday, students at the Mill Creek school say, tension filled the air, teenagers looked from one to another.
Then a carton of milk flew through the air and splattered on the floor.
Fight on.
Before it was over, a package of Cup Noodles had been launched, along with fruit, chocolate milk, Tater Tots, sandwiches and coffee cake. One student emptied a condiment tray of relish over another student’s head, according to one witness.
“Once food started flying, it was all over the ceiling and floor,” said King, a junior, who estimated that more than 100 kids took part. “It was pretty great.”
After the melee, 14 students, including King, were expelled. Administrators also suspended the May 23 senior prom. Brandon Peltier, a junior, said once the initial milk carton flew, he grabbed a large bowl of whole fruit from the lunch line and started lobbing oranges, kiwi and apples. He was expelled along with the other students.
King said a flying tomato slice stuck to his face. He spotted a friend across the cafeteria and hurled a Tater Tot. It was a perfect strike. He was nabbed by a teacher when he raised his arms triumphantly.
Senior Sandy Crissinger said she and some other drama students watched the fight from the cafeteria stage. “Oh boy, it was quite a scene,” she said.
She said teachers and administrators quickly closed the doors to the cafeteria and ordered students to start cleaning up the mess. Yes, wrong behavior, I just want to know have your or anybody else ever been in a food fight? What’s it like? Is it really as fun as the movies make them out to be? What would your choice of culinary weapon be? I’d choose meatloaf for distance lobs and tapioca pudding for close combat.
Mothers’ talk is key to kids’ social skills - -Mothers often get blamed for the way their children turn out, and a new study gives additional weight to that accusation. Research from the United Kingdom shows that the way mothers talk to their children at a young age influences their social skills later in childhood.
The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found that children whose mothers often talked to them about people’s feelings, beliefs, wants and intentions developed better social understanding than children whose mothers did not.
In the first part of the study, mothers were asked to talk to their 3-year-old children about a series of pictures depicting scenes such as a child coming out of school looking happy and people waiting in line. Children whose mothers talked about the mental state of characters in the picture tended to perform better on social understanding tasks, the researchers found.
Can You Catch Swine Flu From Cash? - It doesn’t get talked about much, but paper currency — the dollars, fives, 10s and 20s most people routinely touch every day — can spread viruses from one person to another. So if you have contact with money that an infected individual has also handled, there’s a possibility of catching the flu.
How likely is that? Despite the pervasiveness of cash in society, its role in transmitting illness has been the subject of surprisingly little study. But some recent research suggests that flu bugs can show some staying power (some strains up to 17 days) when they land on one of the countless bank notes that change hands every day. Tell ya’ what, the only way to really know is to have your listeners send you money. It’s a sacrifice you’re willing to make for the sake of science.
Free Chocolate on Fridays!!!
Who knew chocolate could be politically correct?
Apparently, Mars Snackfood US, maker of M&Ms, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way and other American favorites, does.
The company has launched the equivalent of a filibuster to draw attention to competitors that substitute vegetable oil for cocoa butter in their products.
So, what’s in it for you? One of the biggest chocolate giveaways in history.
Every Friday through the end of September, you stand a chance of getting a free chocolate bar or candy because of the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act.
Mars initiated the program last week, giving out coupons for chocolate treats to the first 250,000 people who logged on at RealChocolate.com on Friday and requested a coupon. The response was so large that Mars is doubling the chance for free chocolate this week. A half-million coupons will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis and mailed to those who qualify. Coupons are redeemable for any full-size Mars chocolate product and are limited to one per person per week.
What’s the purpose? According to Mars, federal regulations stipulate that the only source of fat (except milk fat) in a chocolate product should be cocoa butter. Mars says it uses only 100% cocoa butter and urges consumers to look at labels whenever they buy chocolate to be sure they’re getting the real thing.
Of course, while bringing consumers’ attention to chocolate standards, Mars is also trying to lift spirits in a recession-plagued nation, describing the promotion as “a massive effort (that) aims to spread joy across America by giving away as many as 7 million full-size packages of Mars chocolate.”
All we can say is: Bring it on!
XBOX Shoes Now On Sale!!!
Some console fans will spare no expense to show their loyalty to their chosen brand, but we're guessing the $2,500 price tag of these one-of-a-kind Xbox-themed sneakers will make even the most committed Microsoft devotee think twice.
The custom shoes -- which aren't endorsed by Microsoft or Nike -- are handmade by Sole Junkie, a California-based artist who specializes in customized sneakers. And they're not the most expensive ones he's ever made. "I have made shoes with 22k gold and diamonds on them," he told us in an interview. "I look at my creations as functional art...not just ordinary sneakers."
That would be functional in shoe terms, not in a gaming sense. Although you might hope that the $2,500 price tag would buy you cool Xbox interactivity, there's no hidden hard drive or controller functionality. Instead, the Xbox logos light up, courtesy of embedded fiber optics and a hidden switch.
According to Sole Junkie's eBay auction, "These are an exclusive pair...only one of its kind. Patent leather back with embedded fiber optic wiring in the shape of the XBOX logo. Battery placement is in the tongue as well as on and off switch that has 2 settings: Strobe or Constant light functions. Gradient lime swoosh faded to black. The toe is painted in a surreal Tiger Camouflage with accents of lime and bright green. These are a men's size 11."
Will they sell? He seems confident. "I have had offers already. They mention the beauty and artwork in it, not the price tag. Don't know how serious the buyers are so far."
But surprisingly, many Xbox fans aren't overjoyed at his work. "The video game community hates the price and the fact I may have taken a beloved iconic gaming system and butchered it," he told us. "On the other hand, I've had very positive responses from others...more than negative ones."
So, $2,500 shoes that do nothing? We'll pass. But if your collection of gaming memorabilia isn't complete without this unique footwear, don't let us stop you from jumping in.
with
JIM & KAREN
on SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Buckle Up America Week
National Backyard Games Week
National Transportation Week
Memorial Day weekend is coming up and it’s traditionally the day people break out their boats on the lakes. It also happens to be Safe Boating Week.
This is International Pickle Week – A time to celebrate the eating of them or if you have ever been in one. Personally, I get into more “jams” then I do “pickles”.
Today is International Museum Day. It's also Visit Your Relative Day, so you can kill two birds with one stone by going to a museum and visiting your mummy.
Today is Visit Your Relatives Day, the beginning of the family reunion season. Of course, if everybody did visit their relatives today, nobody would be home for their relatives to visit.
This is National Public Works Week. Heck, the public works every week. Why not have something different like Government Works Week?
No Dirty Dishes Day all hail the paper plate!
2004 - Randy Johnson, age 40, became the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game. Many men in their forties relive that dream every weekend with Nintendo Wii Sports.
IN THE NEWS:
GM Dead Letters
About 1,000 GM dealers will get UPS letters this afternoon, informing them that they're going to be shut down. Of course GM dealers are used to getting bad news on Friday afternoons, that when they're usually informed of the latest involuntary GM car recall.
Insurers Bailed Out
The U.S. Treasury is giving $22 billion of bailout money to several life insurance companies. When asked why they didn't have some kind of emergency fund for the economic downturn, the insurance company executives said they didn't want to waste money on some crazy insurance policy.
Insurers Bailed Out II
The U.S. Treasury is giving $22 billion of bailout money to several life insurance companies. In return, those companies have promised never to send a salesmen to any Treasury official's home ever again.
President Obama held a poetry night the other night at the White House. When former President Bush heard about it he said, "Now that's torture."
President Obama has reversed direction, saying we should not release dozens of interrogation photos. The matter has not been decided yet. I understand the photos are being reviewed by Donald Trump.I think all this publicity has gone to Trump's head. Today he held a press conference and said some Burger King guy could keep his crown.
Interesting - Recession Items Flying off the Shelves - It’s not all doom and gloom in the U.S. economy. Some products are bucking the recession and flying off store shelves. Sales of chocolate and running shoes are up. Gold coins are selling like hot cakes. So are gardening seeds. Tanning products are piling up in shopping carts; maybe more people are finding color in a bottle than from sun-worshipping on a faraway beach. Strong sales of Spam, Dinty Moore stew and chili. Recession shoppers also are drawn to items that make them feel safe, both personally and financially.
“The focus on the family hearth is something that has happened in nearly every recession. It’s, ‘How can I have more fun at home?”‘ said Paco Underhill, whose company, Envirosell, monitors the behavior of shoppers and sellers across the U.S. and in other countries.
“People are much more focused on their homes and their immediate happiness and they’re buying things that they can use themselves — seeds, fishing equipment. Lipstick and chocolate are small rewards that make you feel better.”
This nasty recession we’re in has millions of people scaling back their summer vacation plans, but there is one growth area in the travel industry that seems to suit the times perfectly. Campgrounds are going gangbusters, reporting a surge of visitors who can’t afford to go the standard air-car-hotel route this year. As a nifty NPR story points out, tent camping is up by 10% this year, and RV camping is robust as well, reflecting a broad trend toward modest, inexpensive vacations close to home. If the economy remains depressed, could this be the summer that old school camping reasserts itself as the quintessential family vacation?
Here are some camping tips:
1. When using a public campground, a tuba placed on your picnic table will keep the campsites on either side vacant.
2. The guitar of the noisy teenager at the next campsite makes excellent kindling.
3. Enough dirt will get tracked into the tent on the first day out, that you can grow the food you need for the rest of the trip in rows between sleeping bags.
4. You will lose the little toothpick in your Swiss Army knife as soon as you open the box.
Twitter News - There’s a grey kitty with white spots named Sockington — @Sockington on Twitter — that just cruised past the 500,000 follower mark without barely mussing his whiskers. Known as Socks for short, the kitty lives near Boston with his human, Jason Scott. Check out this account of the cat’s triumph.
As of this morning, 502,110 people were apparently spellbound from such Tweets from Sockington:
“and so I slept and then I walked around and then I slept again and then I darted into another room for no apparent reason and just stared for a while…”
Just plain amusing - David Grant is a vet who answers questions in his towns local newspaper. The most recent question: I HAVE two four-year-old guinea pigs. They are female litter mates but one is heavier than the other and has developed slightly sore feet. Could being overweight be the cause and have you any suggestions as to what could be wrong? How on earth can you tell a guinea pig has sore feet?! Would you notice a difference in it’s walk? Are her shoelaces left untied for a looser fit? OH, the answer if a listener actually wants to know…I WOULD have both guinea pigs checked over and weighed. Your vet will want to examine their diet and the cage that you keep them in. Good quality hay and special commercial guinea pig food plus greens should contain adequate amounts of vitamin C.
Idol Chat - We all have our reasons why one or the other will win so here’s why Adam won’t win and why Kris won’t win according to USA Today:
Adam Lambert’s cons include:
-Blue hair, eyeliner and nail polish.
-Fan backlash that comes with Simon Cowell and media declaring Adam the winner too early.
-Gokey’s fans are more likely to root for Kris now that their man is out.
-His professional experience in musicals and on stage bothers some fans who want “Idol” to crown a true amateur.
Kris Allen’s cons include:
-Married status hasn’t helped him win crucial female votes.
-He was never one of the early anointed favorites, missed out on judges approval
-Probably has never played a venue the size of the Nokia Theater L.A. live.
-Low-key married dude from rural Arkansas = terrible tabloid material
The U.S. Mint introduced its new Indiana Lincoln penny Thursday in Spencer County, Lincoln’s childhood home. The one cent coin is the second in a four part series depicting the stages of Lincoln’s life, and hundreds were lined up to get them. The front still retains the image of Lincoln, but the tails side shows an image of a young Abe sitting on a log reading a book, a perfect illustration of Lincoln’s love of books and his belief in the value of education. To learn how you can pinch your pennies and save visit www.pinchingyourpennies.com It features sharing ways on how to save money in all aspects of life, ready-made shopping lists, online deals and more. Anybody save pennies or have you forgotten that it actually has some monetary value?
Top 10 World’s Happiest Places from Forbes - According to a new report released by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based group of 30 countries with democratic governments that provides economic and social statistics and data, happiness levels are highest in northern European countries.
Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list, ranking first, second and third, respectively. Outside Europe, New Zealand and Canada landed at Nos. 8 and 6, respectively. The U.S. did not crack the top 10. Switzerland placed seventh and Belgium placed tenth. The poll asked respondents whether they had experienced six different forms of positive or negative feelings within the last day.
Some sample questions: Did you enjoy something you did yesterday? Were you proud of something you did yesterday? Did you learn something yesterday? Were you treated with respect yesterday? I think the answer to those questions depends on what day there asked on. If asked on a Monday then most likely yesterday, being a Sunday, you did something fun, learned something at church, were treated with respect at church, and so on. Ask me on a Sunday and my answers will be even better, but please don’t ask me on a Tuesday which would force me to recall yesterday which was a Monday and we all know how Monday can go!
Food Fight! -Andrew King got a text message in his third-period class: There’s gonna be a food fight at lunch.
Other Jackson High School students heard the rumors in the halls. So when first lunch period began around 11 a.m. Thursday, students at the Mill Creek school say, tension filled the air, teenagers looked from one to another.
Then a carton of milk flew through the air and splattered on the floor.
Fight on.
Before it was over, a package of Cup Noodles had been launched, along with fruit, chocolate milk, Tater Tots, sandwiches and coffee cake. One student emptied a condiment tray of relish over another student’s head, according to one witness.
“Once food started flying, it was all over the ceiling and floor,” said King, a junior, who estimated that more than 100 kids took part. “It was pretty great.”
After the melee, 14 students, including King, were expelled. Administrators also suspended the May 23 senior prom. Brandon Peltier, a junior, said once the initial milk carton flew, he grabbed a large bowl of whole fruit from the lunch line and started lobbing oranges, kiwi and apples. He was expelled along with the other students.
King said a flying tomato slice stuck to his face. He spotted a friend across the cafeteria and hurled a Tater Tot. It was a perfect strike. He was nabbed by a teacher when he raised his arms triumphantly.
Senior Sandy Crissinger said she and some other drama students watched the fight from the cafeteria stage. “Oh boy, it was quite a scene,” she said.
She said teachers and administrators quickly closed the doors to the cafeteria and ordered students to start cleaning up the mess. Yes, wrong behavior, I just want to know have your or anybody else ever been in a food fight? What’s it like? Is it really as fun as the movies make them out to be? What would your choice of culinary weapon be? I’d choose meatloaf for distance lobs and tapioca pudding for close combat.
Mothers’ talk is key to kids’ social skills - -Mothers often get blamed for the way their children turn out, and a new study gives additional weight to that accusation. Research from the United Kingdom shows that the way mothers talk to their children at a young age influences their social skills later in childhood.
The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found that children whose mothers often talked to them about people’s feelings, beliefs, wants and intentions developed better social understanding than children whose mothers did not.
In the first part of the study, mothers were asked to talk to their 3-year-old children about a series of pictures depicting scenes such as a child coming out of school looking happy and people waiting in line. Children whose mothers talked about the mental state of characters in the picture tended to perform better on social understanding tasks, the researchers found.
Can You Catch Swine Flu From Cash? - It doesn’t get talked about much, but paper currency — the dollars, fives, 10s and 20s most people routinely touch every day — can spread viruses from one person to another. So if you have contact with money that an infected individual has also handled, there’s a possibility of catching the flu.
How likely is that? Despite the pervasiveness of cash in society, its role in transmitting illness has been the subject of surprisingly little study. But some recent research suggests that flu bugs can show some staying power (some strains up to 17 days) when they land on one of the countless bank notes that change hands every day. Tell ya’ what, the only way to really know is to have your listeners send you money. It’s a sacrifice you’re willing to make for the sake of science.
Free Chocolate on Fridays!!!
Who knew chocolate could be politically correct?
Apparently, Mars Snackfood US, maker of M&Ms, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way and other American favorites, does.
The company has launched the equivalent of a filibuster to draw attention to competitors that substitute vegetable oil for cocoa butter in their products.
So, what’s in it for you? One of the biggest chocolate giveaways in history.
Every Friday through the end of September, you stand a chance of getting a free chocolate bar or candy because of the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act.
Mars initiated the program last week, giving out coupons for chocolate treats to the first 250,000 people who logged on at RealChocolate.com on Friday and requested a coupon. The response was so large that Mars is doubling the chance for free chocolate this week. A half-million coupons will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis and mailed to those who qualify. Coupons are redeemable for any full-size Mars chocolate product and are limited to one per person per week.
What’s the purpose? According to Mars, federal regulations stipulate that the only source of fat (except milk fat) in a chocolate product should be cocoa butter. Mars says it uses only 100% cocoa butter and urges consumers to look at labels whenever they buy chocolate to be sure they’re getting the real thing.
Of course, while bringing consumers’ attention to chocolate standards, Mars is also trying to lift spirits in a recession-plagued nation, describing the promotion as “a massive effort (that) aims to spread joy across America by giving away as many as 7 million full-size packages of Mars chocolate.”
All we can say is: Bring it on!
XBOX Shoes Now On Sale!!!
Some console fans will spare no expense to show their loyalty to their chosen brand, but we're guessing the $2,500 price tag of these one-of-a-kind Xbox-themed sneakers will make even the most committed Microsoft devotee think twice.
The custom shoes -- which aren't endorsed by Microsoft or Nike -- are handmade by Sole Junkie, a California-based artist who specializes in customized sneakers. And they're not the most expensive ones he's ever made. "I have made shoes with 22k gold and diamonds on them," he told us in an interview. "I look at my creations as functional art...not just ordinary sneakers."
That would be functional in shoe terms, not in a gaming sense. Although you might hope that the $2,500 price tag would buy you cool Xbox interactivity, there's no hidden hard drive or controller functionality. Instead, the Xbox logos light up, courtesy of embedded fiber optics and a hidden switch.
According to Sole Junkie's eBay auction, "These are an exclusive pair...only one of its kind. Patent leather back with embedded fiber optic wiring in the shape of the XBOX logo. Battery placement is in the tongue as well as on and off switch that has 2 settings: Strobe or Constant light functions. Gradient lime swoosh faded to black. The toe is painted in a surreal Tiger Camouflage with accents of lime and bright green. These are a men's size 11."
Will they sell? He seems confident. "I have had offers already. They mention the beauty and artwork in it, not the price tag. Don't know how serious the buyers are so far."
But surprisingly, many Xbox fans aren't overjoyed at his work. "The video game community hates the price and the fact I may have taken a beloved iconic gaming system and butchered it," he told us. "On the other hand, I've had very positive responses from others...more than negative ones."
So, $2,500 shoes that do nothing? We'll pass. But if your collection of gaming memorabilia isn't complete without this unique footwear, don't let us stop you from jumping in.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY - MAY 13, 2009
THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is National Nightshift Workers Day.
Today is Good Samaritan Involvement Day, a time to be unselfish and get involved to help others.
National Receptionists Day (not to be confused with Professional Administrator Day)
1938 - Louis Armstrong and his orchestra recorded the New Orleans’s jazz classic, When the Saints Go Marching In, on Decca Records.
1940 - Winston Churchill gave his first speech as prime minister: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
1973 - Tennis male chauvinist Bobby Riggs defeated Margaret Smith Court 6-2, 6-1 in front of a world-wide television audience. He would lose to Billie Jean King later that year.
NEWS & STUFF:
SIMON COWELL is a clean freak. Other than having a clean shirt for every "American Idol" show, Star magazine reports that the judge's first job in Hollywood was cleaning props, specifically JACK NICOLSON's ax on the set of "The Shining."
Reports say Twitter may have peaked, 60% of new users drop out after only one month. The people behind Twitter are nervous. Maybe they should change the name to -- Jitter.
Fans are excited about the new "Star Trek" movie. The Enterprise travels through space at "warp speed". Jim explained it to me. Warp speed is the speed at which a bumper sticker on a spaceship starts to melt.
THIS IS A COOL STORY:
One thing you may not have noticed in the latest "Star Trek" movie: Carnegie Mellon computer science professor RANDY PAUSCH. Although Pausch died last July at the age of 47 from pancreatic cancer, his "last lecture" was an Internet sensation and later became a best-selling book.
The NY Times reports that "Trek" producer J.J. ABRAMS heard about the professor's love for "Star Trek" and his childhood dream to "be Captain Kirk" and wrote him "I just wanted to put the invitation out there — that if you had any desire to be in the film (can’t promise you role as CAPTAIN, but… we could do SOMETHING!), it would be my honor and pleasure."
Long story short, Pausch took him up on the offer, was flown to LA, got a custom-made uniform, a station on the bridge and one line, for which he was paid $217.06 —and donated it to charity. The line: "Captain, we have visual."
Pausch later said: "Of all the things that have happened, that is the coolest. I’m touched by it. It’s something my kids will be able to go see. It was such a kind thing that [J.J. Abrams] did."
Social Security Red Alert
A new report shows that Social Security and Medicare will go broke much sooner than expected. America's elderly are responding by doing the only thing they can do to protect their retirement - joining the UAW.
Stealing Stamps
Police say a Michigan postal worker has admitted to stealing $20,000 worth of postage stamps and trying to sell them online. The worker will be fired for breaking the Postal Service's strict rules against turning a profit.
Google Lawn Mowing
Instead of using landscapers, Google is looking to be environmentally friendly by bringing in a herd of goats to eat the grass at its corporate headquarters.
Music IS Good For You! - For years, Dr. Mike Miller, a research
cardiologist, has been studying the effects of happiness — or things that
make people happy — on our hearts. He began his research with laughter, and found watching funny movies and laughing at them could actually open up blood vessels, allowing blood to circulate more freely.
Miller thought, if laughter can do that, why not music? So, he tested the
effects of music on the cardiovascular system. “Turns out music may be one
of the best de-stressors — either by playing or even listening to music,”
said Miller. The results did not surprise Miller. “The inner lining of the
blood vessel relaxed, opened up and produced chemicals that are protective to the heart,” he said.
But when participants listened to music they didn’t particularly enjoy,
Miller said, “the vessels actually began to close up.” So, the next time
your boss gets on your nerves, or the kids are driving you crazy, or the car
breaks down, don’t start pulling out your hair. Instead, turn on the radio,
grab your iPod or pop in a CD, and let the music carry you away. All of us
have that one song or CD that does it for us, what’s yours? Stars, Gone, or
More Than Fine from Switchfoot does it for me everytime.
Baby Names Part 2 - Today’s most popular baby names say a lot about the way those babies will turn out. Kerri Hopkins is a Los Angeles-based name expert who analyzes people’s personality traits based on the letters in their names. She’s taken the most popular boys’ and girls’ names and supposedly has the scoop on what these tots will grow up to be like. Hopkins says Jacob is good-natured and tries to please everyone around him. Michael is curious and witty, Ethan is ambitious, Joshua is a prankster, and Daniel is a creative social butterfly. As for the girls, Hopkins says Emma is kind, loving, and sincere, while Isabella is a sassy attention hog. Emily is funny and likes to party, Madison hates being idle, and Ava is a looker who loves to shop.
HONG KONG (Wireless Flash) – After selling his life on eBay, one man is using the money to live out his wildest fantasies. Last June, Ian Usher decided he’d had enough of his life and sold everything – his house, belongings, friends, and even his job – for roughly $290,000 on eBay. Now, he’s using that money to complete 100 things he’s always wanted to try in 100 weeks, including juggling fire clubs, meeting Sir Richard Branson, and getting into a tomato fight in Spain.
His adventure is chronicled on 100goals100weeks.com. So far, Usher has completed 42 of his goals, including swimming with hammerhead sharks in Japan and having a wild hawk land on his hand.
How important is that resume? - The British firm Personal Career Management examined 450 resumes and found that 94 percent of job seekers lost out on getting hired because they had mistakes on their resumes. They were badly presented, had poor grammar or spelling errors. One proudly claimed, “I was responsible for dissatisfied customers.” And another lost out due to one missing comma by claiming his outside interests were “cooking dogs and interesting people.”
Weird Lookin’ Car - The 2009 Nissan Cube. It’s almost cartoonish or Dr. Seuss like. Like a movie prop, the Cube goes to great lengths to hide what it truly is underneath. Namely, a Nissan Versa, with which it shares many parts. The Cube is a bit shorter in length, but compensates for this by
being taller, with an odd array of shapes punctuating its boxy form, such as
the use of squircles for windows. It looks like a car designed for Gumby to
drive.
Base Price: $13,990
Type: Front-engine, front wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
Engine: 1.8L inline-4 cylinder
Power: 122 hp, 127 lb-ft torque
Transmission: 6-speed manual
New Term For You - “Weisure”; here’s the rundown from CNN:
a.”Weisure” is the blurring of work and play — both what we do and
where we do it
b.Weisure is changing modern society, says NYU sociologist Dalton Conley
c.”We lose our private sphere,” he says. “There’s less time to be our
backstage selves”
d.Why? Technology, longer workweek and more workers enjoying their jobs.
What means is more and more Americans are using smartphones and other
technology to collaborate with business colleagues while hanging out with
their families. I just like saying “weisure” it satisfies the Elmer Fudd in me.
Beautiful Story - Stephen Armitage of Yorkshire, England, was born blind in his right eye, and the bad vision in his left eye went hazy after an
infection caused by a contact lens three years ago. But three months ago, the 36-year-old father of two underwent a rare seven-hour surgery that allowed him to see his youngest son, 20-month-old Harry, for the first time, reports the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail. “I hadn’t seen Harry’s facial reactions before or the way he communicates, I could only see his silhouette. Suddenly I was able to see his face,” Armitage told the Daily Mail. Reliving the moment after the surgery when the bandages were peeled away, Armitage said, “It was like a thick cloud had been lifted and my first sight of the kids was wonderful - they were like angels.”
How Ironic! -STAYING in to save money is costing clumsy folks millions a year in broken crockery, wine stains on carpets and similar household accidents. It would often be cheaper to go out than entertain at home as credit-crunched couples spill food on upholstery or start pan fires while cooking a meal, figures reveal. The survey of 1,000 adults found that 46 per cent were staying in more to save money, and almost 89 per cent sacrificed dining out when they had less disposable income. What’s the latest kitchen/cooking mishap you’ve had at home? A few years ago my wife had a grease fire on the stove. Cost us $3,500. We ate out that night, but had to charge it for obvious reasons.
Wow, this is interesting especially on the heels of the Swine Flu - The next time you cough or sneeze, there is good reason to cover your mouth. As many as 20,000 viruses are expelled in an average cough, which may be sufficient to infect many people — particularly those who are not vaccinated. Julian Tang, a consultant at Singapore’s National University Hospital’s Division of Microbiology, said as many as 3,000 tiny droplets are produced in a standard cough. My sons have been studying microorganisms in school and learned that the virus is the smallest living organism; need a high powered microscope to see most variations. If you haven’t done it yet, why not ask parents and students what actions have been taken at their schools. Are people doing anything differently? A private Christian school in town sent home a letter to the students parents simply stating that they have no plans of having the Swine Flu virus in the school at all with God’s help!
Mexico City believes that laughter is the best medicine! - Televisa is cutting all “nonessential” kisses from its soap operas. A song called the “Influenza Cumbia” is climbing the charts. As Mexicans lock themselves inside in fear of the virus, they can’t help but have a little fun with it as well.
The surgical masks that Mexicans have donned by the millions have become canvases for creativity, with some adorning their protective coverings with painted-on monkey mouths, outsized mustaches or “kissy lips.” Newspapers offer smiley cutouts for people to paste to their masks, and some drivers have fashioned masks for their cars. Dog lovers walk the streets of Mexico City with matching masks for their pooches, though doctors have yet to confirm that chihuahua-to-chihuahua transmission is a major public health threat.
Gas prices have surged nearly 10% over the past two weeks. That’s a gain of 20 cents during the past 14 days, and the national average hit $2.248 a gallon on Tuesday, according to a survey by motorist group AAA. The good news: Analysts say a return to last summer’s record highs of $4 a gallon is not on the horizon. And the current runup is not surprising because prices typically increase ahead of the Memorial Day holiday — the unofficial beginning of the peak summer driving season.
How does a man apply makeup? - Confidential notes detailing how Gordon Brown should apply his make-up were left in a taxi by an aide, in a new embarrassment for the Prime Minister of the UK.
The make-up instructions were as follows:
1. Transparent Brush. Foam all over.
2. Small pot under eyes, dimple, creases, blend in.
3. Clinique. Super balanced make-up. All over again, like painting a wall, and ears. Shut eyes over lids then with make-up pad smooth over liquid.
Powder (dark brush) terracotta Guerlain, all over.
I’ve never worn makeup so I need some help here, is that a lot of makeup or not? How does this compare with your routine at home?
Seven Unforgettable Fads
With the help of these trend-spotters, we put together a short list of fads you're likely to remember that got a fast-start. Here they are.
Crocs and Other Plastic Shoes
For a while, the brightly colored plastic shoes were the footwear to be seen in from Los Angeles to New York. But trend spotters suspect the popularity of the plastic shoe has peaked.
On Thursday, Crocs Inc. announced a 32 percent drop in revenue, according to Reuters. "Our intention in 2009 is to preserve the strength of the Crocs brand while endeavoring to strike a balance between lowering our fixed cost base and responsibly reducing our inventory," said Crocs Chief Executive Officer John Duerden.
Infinia Foresight's Bamsey believes the company is evolving, but he also said it didn't act fast enough.
"They rode the wave too long. Their surfboard hit the beach," he said, adding that the product was "pretty static.
"Do they stand for something? Do they have a certain competency?" he asked.
Piers Fawkes, founder of trends and innovation company PSFK said, "Rapid popularity led to trends outcry but many ripoff versions. Lots of people got rich on the plastic shoe fad even though I think Crocs as a company has not died."
The Livestrong Bracelet
Lance Armstrong's iconic yellow band was intended to raise awareness and funding for cancer research. But the $1 plastic bracelet spawned a whole class of wristbands for a variety of charities and political causes.
Launched in May 2004, the bracelets found their way on to the arms of celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Robin Williams and Sen. John Kerry. But today they're hard to spot.
"The Livestrong bracelet was meant to be a fad," said Bamsey. "It was great marketing but not meant to last very long."
Beanie Babies
The tiny stuffed toys from Ty Inc. really hit their stride in the late 1990s, becoming international trading and collectors' items.
Popular among both children and adults, the line started with basic frogs, dolphins and bears. Over time, it grew to include seasonal animals and celebrity lookalikes, like the Princess Diana bear introduced in 1997 after the royal's death.
Bamsey said the craze-inducing creatures fit the mold of a fad but said the shorter life cycle is part of its offering. "Creating and selling 'fads' can be a wise business choice if the category/product lends itself to that," he said. "It's all about generating interest and intent to buy. And some products are unlikely to be sustainable over time."
Since Ty Inc. is a low-profile, private company, sales figures are difficult to come by. But while the company still sells the plush toys, it no longer grabs headlines and inspires buying frenzies the way they used to. However, now that a Beanie Baby fashioned after the President Obama's dog Bo is in the works, maybe they're poised for a comeback.
The Macarena
A favorite at weddings and bar mitzvahs once upon a time, Los del Rio's Macarena is No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs list
The popular song -- and unforgettable accompanying line dance -- peaked during the summer of 1996. But after the song's success, the band fell out of the mainstream, winning the top spot on VH1's top one-hit wonders list in 2002.
Friendster
In 2004, the social networking Web site was a media industry darling, making it on to Time magazine's list of the 50 Coolest Web sites that year. But those days are long gone.
It's still popular in some parts of the world, analysts said, but its popularity in the United States has plummeted as other sites like Facebook and Twitter have taken its place.
"Friendster, the original social network, exploded then imploded. Facebook worked out the errors made during that wave and took it all to another level altogether," said PSFK's Fawkes.
The site was launched in 2003, giving users a place to connect with existing friends, friends of friends, their friends and more. By June 2005, the site claimed more than 16 million worldwide subscribers.
According to its Web site, Friendster now has about 100 million members worldwide, but it isn't even listed among the top 10 social networking sites. According to Compete, Friendster was the 18th most-visited social networking site in January 2009, with about 7 million visits. Facebook, ranked No. 1, had about 1.2 billion visits in the same month.
Ring Pops
"The quintessential fad," said Ira Matathia of Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve, about the pacifier-like ring pops.
Manufactured by the Topps Company, the wearable sweets were introduced in 1977, but they really became popularized in the '80s. The edible jewelry is tough to find these days, though it still makes appearances on the fingers of stars like Lindsay Lohan, Fergie and others.
Garbage Pail Kids
Another Topps creation, released in 1985, Garbage Pail Kids were once the trading card of choice for kids and adolescents.
Meant to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, each card featured a character that had suffered some kind of abnormality. The cards' success led to the production of a live-action movie and animated television series that briefly aired in Europe.
The fervor has died down, but the cards are still around. Its Web site gives visitors the option to build and raiser their own kids.
ROTTEN OFFICE FRIDGE CLEAN UP SENDS SEVEN PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL
SAN JOSE, Calif. – An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill. Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday, after the flagrant fumes prompted someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.
What they found was an unplugged refrigerator that had been crammed with moldy food.
Authorities said an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess. The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.
Authorities said the worker who cleaned the fridge didn't need treatment — she can't smell because of allergies.
with
JIM & KAREN
on
SPIRIT FM
TODAY IS:
Today is National Nightshift Workers Day.
Today is Good Samaritan Involvement Day, a time to be unselfish and get involved to help others.
National Receptionists Day (not to be confused with Professional Administrator Day)
1938 - Louis Armstrong and his orchestra recorded the New Orleans’s jazz classic, When the Saints Go Marching In, on Decca Records.
1940 - Winston Churchill gave his first speech as prime minister: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
1973 - Tennis male chauvinist Bobby Riggs defeated Margaret Smith Court 6-2, 6-1 in front of a world-wide television audience. He would lose to Billie Jean King later that year.
NEWS & STUFF:
SIMON COWELL is a clean freak. Other than having a clean shirt for every "American Idol" show, Star magazine reports that the judge's first job in Hollywood was cleaning props, specifically JACK NICOLSON's ax on the set of "The Shining."
Reports say Twitter may have peaked, 60% of new users drop out after only one month. The people behind Twitter are nervous. Maybe they should change the name to -- Jitter.
Fans are excited about the new "Star Trek" movie. The Enterprise travels through space at "warp speed". Jim explained it to me. Warp speed is the speed at which a bumper sticker on a spaceship starts to melt.
THIS IS A COOL STORY:
One thing you may not have noticed in the latest "Star Trek" movie: Carnegie Mellon computer science professor RANDY PAUSCH. Although Pausch died last July at the age of 47 from pancreatic cancer, his "last lecture" was an Internet sensation and later became a best-selling book.
The NY Times reports that "Trek" producer J.J. ABRAMS heard about the professor's love for "Star Trek" and his childhood dream to "be Captain Kirk" and wrote him "I just wanted to put the invitation out there — that if you had any desire to be in the film (can’t promise you role as CAPTAIN, but… we could do SOMETHING!), it would be my honor and pleasure."
Long story short, Pausch took him up on the offer, was flown to LA, got a custom-made uniform, a station on the bridge and one line, for which he was paid $217.06 —and donated it to charity. The line: "Captain, we have visual."
Pausch later said: "Of all the things that have happened, that is the coolest. I’m touched by it. It’s something my kids will be able to go see. It was such a kind thing that [J.J. Abrams] did."
Social Security Red Alert
A new report shows that Social Security and Medicare will go broke much sooner than expected. America's elderly are responding by doing the only thing they can do to protect their retirement - joining the UAW.
Stealing Stamps
Police say a Michigan postal worker has admitted to stealing $20,000 worth of postage stamps and trying to sell them online. The worker will be fired for breaking the Postal Service's strict rules against turning a profit.
Google Lawn Mowing
Instead of using landscapers, Google is looking to be environmentally friendly by bringing in a herd of goats to eat the grass at its corporate headquarters.
Music IS Good For You! - For years, Dr. Mike Miller, a research
cardiologist, has been studying the effects of happiness — or things that
make people happy — on our hearts. He began his research with laughter, and found watching funny movies and laughing at them could actually open up blood vessels, allowing blood to circulate more freely.
Miller thought, if laughter can do that, why not music? So, he tested the
effects of music on the cardiovascular system. “Turns out music may be one
of the best de-stressors — either by playing or even listening to music,”
said Miller. The results did not surprise Miller. “The inner lining of the
blood vessel relaxed, opened up and produced chemicals that are protective to the heart,” he said.
But when participants listened to music they didn’t particularly enjoy,
Miller said, “the vessels actually began to close up.” So, the next time
your boss gets on your nerves, or the kids are driving you crazy, or the car
breaks down, don’t start pulling out your hair. Instead, turn on the radio,
grab your iPod or pop in a CD, and let the music carry you away. All of us
have that one song or CD that does it for us, what’s yours? Stars, Gone, or
More Than Fine from Switchfoot does it for me everytime.
Baby Names Part 2 - Today’s most popular baby names say a lot about the way those babies will turn out. Kerri Hopkins is a Los Angeles-based name expert who analyzes people’s personality traits based on the letters in their names. She’s taken the most popular boys’ and girls’ names and supposedly has the scoop on what these tots will grow up to be like. Hopkins says Jacob is good-natured and tries to please everyone around him. Michael is curious and witty, Ethan is ambitious, Joshua is a prankster, and Daniel is a creative social butterfly. As for the girls, Hopkins says Emma is kind, loving, and sincere, while Isabella is a sassy attention hog. Emily is funny and likes to party, Madison hates being idle, and Ava is a looker who loves to shop.
HONG KONG (Wireless Flash) – After selling his life on eBay, one man is using the money to live out his wildest fantasies. Last June, Ian Usher decided he’d had enough of his life and sold everything – his house, belongings, friends, and even his job – for roughly $290,000 on eBay. Now, he’s using that money to complete 100 things he’s always wanted to try in 100 weeks, including juggling fire clubs, meeting Sir Richard Branson, and getting into a tomato fight in Spain.
His adventure is chronicled on 100goals100weeks.com. So far, Usher has completed 42 of his goals, including swimming with hammerhead sharks in Japan and having a wild hawk land on his hand.
How important is that resume? - The British firm Personal Career Management examined 450 resumes and found that 94 percent of job seekers lost out on getting hired because they had mistakes on their resumes. They were badly presented, had poor grammar or spelling errors. One proudly claimed, “I was responsible for dissatisfied customers.” And another lost out due to one missing comma by claiming his outside interests were “cooking dogs and interesting people.”
Weird Lookin’ Car - The 2009 Nissan Cube. It’s almost cartoonish or Dr. Seuss like. Like a movie prop, the Cube goes to great lengths to hide what it truly is underneath. Namely, a Nissan Versa, with which it shares many parts. The Cube is a bit shorter in length, but compensates for this by
being taller, with an odd array of shapes punctuating its boxy form, such as
the use of squircles for windows. It looks like a car designed for Gumby to
drive.
Base Price: $13,990
Type: Front-engine, front wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
Engine: 1.8L inline-4 cylinder
Power: 122 hp, 127 lb-ft torque
Transmission: 6-speed manual
New Term For You - “Weisure”; here’s the rundown from CNN:
a.”Weisure” is the blurring of work and play — both what we do and
where we do it
b.Weisure is changing modern society, says NYU sociologist Dalton Conley
c.”We lose our private sphere,” he says. “There’s less time to be our
backstage selves”
d.Why? Technology, longer workweek and more workers enjoying their jobs.
What means is more and more Americans are using smartphones and other
technology to collaborate with business colleagues while hanging out with
their families. I just like saying “weisure” it satisfies the Elmer Fudd in me.
Beautiful Story - Stephen Armitage of Yorkshire, England, was born blind in his right eye, and the bad vision in his left eye went hazy after an
infection caused by a contact lens three years ago. But three months ago, the 36-year-old father of two underwent a rare seven-hour surgery that allowed him to see his youngest son, 20-month-old Harry, for the first time, reports the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail. “I hadn’t seen Harry’s facial reactions before or the way he communicates, I could only see his silhouette. Suddenly I was able to see his face,” Armitage told the Daily Mail. Reliving the moment after the surgery when the bandages were peeled away, Armitage said, “It was like a thick cloud had been lifted and my first sight of the kids was wonderful - they were like angels.”
How Ironic! -STAYING in to save money is costing clumsy folks millions a year in broken crockery, wine stains on carpets and similar household accidents. It would often be cheaper to go out than entertain at home as credit-crunched couples spill food on upholstery or start pan fires while cooking a meal, figures reveal. The survey of 1,000 adults found that 46 per cent were staying in more to save money, and almost 89 per cent sacrificed dining out when they had less disposable income. What’s the latest kitchen/cooking mishap you’ve had at home? A few years ago my wife had a grease fire on the stove. Cost us $3,500. We ate out that night, but had to charge it for obvious reasons.
Wow, this is interesting especially on the heels of the Swine Flu - The next time you cough or sneeze, there is good reason to cover your mouth. As many as 20,000 viruses are expelled in an average cough, which may be sufficient to infect many people — particularly those who are not vaccinated. Julian Tang, a consultant at Singapore’s National University Hospital’s Division of Microbiology, said as many as 3,000 tiny droplets are produced in a standard cough. My sons have been studying microorganisms in school and learned that the virus is the smallest living organism; need a high powered microscope to see most variations. If you haven’t done it yet, why not ask parents and students what actions have been taken at their schools. Are people doing anything differently? A private Christian school in town sent home a letter to the students parents simply stating that they have no plans of having the Swine Flu virus in the school at all with God’s help!
Mexico City believes that laughter is the best medicine! - Televisa is cutting all “nonessential” kisses from its soap operas. A song called the “Influenza Cumbia” is climbing the charts. As Mexicans lock themselves inside in fear of the virus, they can’t help but have a little fun with it as well.
The surgical masks that Mexicans have donned by the millions have become canvases for creativity, with some adorning their protective coverings with painted-on monkey mouths, outsized mustaches or “kissy lips.” Newspapers offer smiley cutouts for people to paste to their masks, and some drivers have fashioned masks for their cars. Dog lovers walk the streets of Mexico City with matching masks for their pooches, though doctors have yet to confirm that chihuahua-to-chihuahua transmission is a major public health threat.
Gas prices have surged nearly 10% over the past two weeks. That’s a gain of 20 cents during the past 14 days, and the national average hit $2.248 a gallon on Tuesday, according to a survey by motorist group AAA. The good news: Analysts say a return to last summer’s record highs of $4 a gallon is not on the horizon. And the current runup is not surprising because prices typically increase ahead of the Memorial Day holiday — the unofficial beginning of the peak summer driving season.
How does a man apply makeup? - Confidential notes detailing how Gordon Brown should apply his make-up were left in a taxi by an aide, in a new embarrassment for the Prime Minister of the UK.
The make-up instructions were as follows:
1. Transparent Brush. Foam all over.
2. Small pot under eyes, dimple, creases, blend in.
3. Clinique. Super balanced make-up. All over again, like painting a wall, and ears. Shut eyes over lids then with make-up pad smooth over liquid.
Powder (dark brush) terracotta Guerlain, all over.
I’ve never worn makeup so I need some help here, is that a lot of makeup or not? How does this compare with your routine at home?
Seven Unforgettable Fads
With the help of these trend-spotters, we put together a short list of fads you're likely to remember that got a fast-start. Here they are.
Crocs and Other Plastic Shoes
For a while, the brightly colored plastic shoes were the footwear to be seen in from Los Angeles to New York. But trend spotters suspect the popularity of the plastic shoe has peaked.
On Thursday, Crocs Inc. announced a 32 percent drop in revenue, according to Reuters. "Our intention in 2009 is to preserve the strength of the Crocs brand while endeavoring to strike a balance between lowering our fixed cost base and responsibly reducing our inventory," said Crocs Chief Executive Officer John Duerden.
Infinia Foresight's Bamsey believes the company is evolving, but he also said it didn't act fast enough.
"They rode the wave too long. Their surfboard hit the beach," he said, adding that the product was "pretty static.
"Do they stand for something? Do they have a certain competency?" he asked.
Piers Fawkes, founder of trends and innovation company PSFK said, "Rapid popularity led to trends outcry but many ripoff versions. Lots of people got rich on the plastic shoe fad even though I think Crocs as a company has not died."
The Livestrong Bracelet
Lance Armstrong's iconic yellow band was intended to raise awareness and funding for cancer research. But the $1 plastic bracelet spawned a whole class of wristbands for a variety of charities and political causes.
Launched in May 2004, the bracelets found their way on to the arms of celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Robin Williams and Sen. John Kerry. But today they're hard to spot.
"The Livestrong bracelet was meant to be a fad," said Bamsey. "It was great marketing but not meant to last very long."
Beanie Babies
The tiny stuffed toys from Ty Inc. really hit their stride in the late 1990s, becoming international trading and collectors' items.
Popular among both children and adults, the line started with basic frogs, dolphins and bears. Over time, it grew to include seasonal animals and celebrity lookalikes, like the Princess Diana bear introduced in 1997 after the royal's death.
Bamsey said the craze-inducing creatures fit the mold of a fad but said the shorter life cycle is part of its offering. "Creating and selling 'fads' can be a wise business choice if the category/product lends itself to that," he said. "It's all about generating interest and intent to buy. And some products are unlikely to be sustainable over time."
Since Ty Inc. is a low-profile, private company, sales figures are difficult to come by. But while the company still sells the plush toys, it no longer grabs headlines and inspires buying frenzies the way they used to. However, now that a Beanie Baby fashioned after the President Obama's dog Bo is in the works, maybe they're poised for a comeback.
The Macarena
A favorite at weddings and bar mitzvahs once upon a time, Los del Rio's Macarena is No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs list
The popular song -- and unforgettable accompanying line dance -- peaked during the summer of 1996. But after the song's success, the band fell out of the mainstream, winning the top spot on VH1's top one-hit wonders list in 2002.
Friendster
In 2004, the social networking Web site was a media industry darling, making it on to Time magazine's list of the 50 Coolest Web sites that year. But those days are long gone.
It's still popular in some parts of the world, analysts said, but its popularity in the United States has plummeted as other sites like Facebook and Twitter have taken its place.
"Friendster, the original social network, exploded then imploded. Facebook worked out the errors made during that wave and took it all to another level altogether," said PSFK's Fawkes.
The site was launched in 2003, giving users a place to connect with existing friends, friends of friends, their friends and more. By June 2005, the site claimed more than 16 million worldwide subscribers.
According to its Web site, Friendster now has about 100 million members worldwide, but it isn't even listed among the top 10 social networking sites. According to Compete, Friendster was the 18th most-visited social networking site in January 2009, with about 7 million visits. Facebook, ranked No. 1, had about 1.2 billion visits in the same month.
Ring Pops
"The quintessential fad," said Ira Matathia of Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve, about the pacifier-like ring pops.
Manufactured by the Topps Company, the wearable sweets were introduced in 1977, but they really became popularized in the '80s. The edible jewelry is tough to find these days, though it still makes appearances on the fingers of stars like Lindsay Lohan, Fergie and others.
Garbage Pail Kids
Another Topps creation, released in 1985, Garbage Pail Kids were once the trading card of choice for kids and adolescents.
Meant to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, each card featured a character that had suffered some kind of abnormality. The cards' success led to the production of a live-action movie and animated television series that briefly aired in Europe.
The fervor has died down, but the cards are still around. Its Web site gives visitors the option to build and raiser their own kids.
ROTTEN OFFICE FRIDGE CLEAN UP SENDS SEVEN PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL
SAN JOSE, Calif. – An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill. Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday, after the flagrant fumes prompted someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.
What they found was an unplugged refrigerator that had been crammed with moldy food.
Authorities said an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess. The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.
Authorities said the worker who cleaned the fridge didn't need treatment — she can't smell because of allergies.
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