imkittymyers at hotmail dot com
Saturday, November 05, 2005
I'M NOT A CONSPIRACY BUFF, BUT ...
New Details of Marilyn Monroe's Life and Death
DiMaggio Family: Marilyn and Joe Planned to Remarry on Day That Turned Out to be Her Funeral
A report in the December issue of Playboy reveals new details about the life of the legendary Marilyn Monroe and raises even more questions about her mysterious death in 1962.
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The article also features uncensored and expanded transcripts of audio tapes of Monroe's psychotherapy sessions. The tapes, which were detailed in part by the Los Angeles Times in August, reveal for the first time, in Monroe's own words, that the actress was not suicidal at the time of her death.
"Here is a person stigmatized by the diagnosis of suicide when that is an absolutely wrong, false, erroneous diagnosis," said former L.A. County prosecutor John Miner Miner, who created the transcripts.
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Members of the DiMaggio family have long believed Monroe was not alone when she died. June DiMaggio says her mother, Lee, told her she was the last person to speak to Monroe on the night of Aug. 4, 1962.
Lee, who has since died, said she was on the phone with Monroe when Monroe screamed a name and dropped the phone. Lee took that name to the grave because she feared for the safety of her family, according to June.
h/t Blue
Rodger blogged on Miner’s tapes back in August: I’m particularly intrigued with [the] passage about a one-night stand Monroe had with actress Joan Crawford.
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Friday, November 04, 2005
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURA BUSH!
It's not polite to ask, but she was born in 1946. You do the math.Elsewhere ...
8 BROKAW BLOWS OFF THE MARINES
[NOTE: Link will be timed out by tomorrow.]
The NBC anchor, whose brother was a Marine, agreed months ago to speak at Wednesday's ball at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. But he ditched it at the last minute to hang with the royal couple at the D.C. shindig, which was also attended by President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, former first ladies Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan, Condoleezza Rice, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Brokaw, who penned the acclaimed "The Greatest Generation," about the American war effort during WWII, tapped his NBC colleague Jon Siegenthaler to sub for him.
Sigenthaler opened his remarks by saying, "Let me tell you why I'm here. I got a call from Tom Brokaw the other day, and he asked me, 'Jon, Do you believe in free speech?' And I said that of course, I believed in free speech.
"So Tom said, 'Great, because I'm going to ask you to give a speech for free.' And then he explained that he'd agreed to emcee this event months before, but then he'd been invited to a dinner at the White House, and had been faced with a choice. Tom told me, 'Even my mother told me I was making the wrong choice.'"
8 Aw Geez, Not These Crappy Polls Again. Alright, Once More Into The Breach: [O]nce again, it is up to us here at ABP to show you why these polls are utterly meaningless when it comes to predicting what voters will do come 2006.
8 THE book that’s got Libs fuming: The book itself is an easy but entertaining read. What sets this book apart from a book by say, Al Franken, is that Schweizer isn't out to humiliate those he profiles in a personal way and take mean-spirited swipes at them. Rather, his goal is to see if prominent liberals who espouse public policies such as affirmative action, no school vouchers, and high taxes for the rich abide by such principles in their private lives. What you read in the book is illuminating.
Which begs the question, If Al Franken Sues, Will the MSM Cover It?
8 Poor Lorie is still sick, and Mrs. Media Matters, who’s pregnant, gets sick just thinking about this certain someone =:O
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Thursday, November 03, 2005
EASIN' OUTTA DA HOOD
Yeah yeah yeah, we've all Her Royal C's coy answers when asked if she's going to run for the White House in '08. Like she doesn't think of anything else but! She's only been planning on it like forever. Not to mention that Slick would love to get his hands on more interns. I guess if their dream comes true, Slick won't be hanging around Harlem no'mo, because according to this Page Six piece, he has a "bailout clause" in his lease for his Harlem office.*
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
CHICK LIT IS NOT A CHEWING GUM
My mother used to carry Chiclets in her purse and chew only half of one at a time. HALF! That drove me crazy because, as a kid, I used to cram an entire pack of gum into my mouth at one time. Blackjack was my favorite. When I began to hear about chick lit, I couldn't help but flash back to my mother's tidbits of gum.I had never read chick lit, and I didn't really want to because it sounded like something men-hating bitter women would read. I love men and I'm not bitter. (I could get all cute here and say I'm really sweet -- but I won't.) Then I read my first chick lit, Jennifer's Weiner's Good In Bed, and I decided that the genre wasn't half bad. In fact, I really like it!
Josephine Gillis could easily write chick lit with what she's experienced: When I was scorned by my husband a monster emerged in me. He didn’t just end the relationship by bringing in a new woman, he had to pour salt into the wound while he was at it, flippantly joking about expediting a paycheck by telling his employer that he was “going through a divorce” two days after I had been given the news of said divorce. It was old news to him, he’d already been shacking up with the interloper for a couple of weeks.
Today, thanks to POD-dyMouth, I've discovered another chick lit author, Laurie Notaro. She wrote that book up there, the one with the hilarious cover.
I'm not certain if I'd be any good at writing chick lit. After all, I haven't been embittered by a louse, at least not terminally. In fact, I think my long-term marriage to the same guy would probably disqualify me. But I'm going to try anyway. Just my luck, I'll put all my efforts into writing about a dumped woman and it will end up being nothing more than a pack of Chiclets.
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Tuesday, November 01, 2005
BAD CLINTON KARMA COMIN' ROUND?
CLINTON'S SCOTTISH COURT WARNING: FORMER US President Bill Clinton may be forced to appear in court over a medical scandal which claimed the lives of innocent Scots. Many haemophiliacs were infected with hepatitis C after tainted blood from American prisoners was imported into the UK. Glasgow firm Thomsons are representing the families of Scots sufferers who died after contracting the disease. They allege inmates in an Arkansas jail were paid to donate blood despite the authorities knowing they had AIDS and hepatitis. They are threatening to call the ex-president, who was state governor at the time, to the witness stand. The infected bloodwasused to make clotting agents for haemophiliacs who require regular blood transfusions Frank Maguire, of Thomsons, said "These allegations are extremely serious and I am now more sure than ever that there should be a full public inquiry into why so many Scots contracted hepatitis C from infected blood products.*
DAY OF THE DEAD
The Day of the Dead: November 1, All Saints Day, and November 2, All Souls Day are marked throughout Mexico by a plethora of intriguing customs that vary widely according to the ethnic roots of each region. Common to all, however, are colorful adornments and lively reunions at family burial plots, the preparation of special foods, offerings laid out for the departed on commemorative altars and religious rites that are likely to include noisy fireworks.*
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
The good news is that the price of gas has come down $1 since its high. The bad news is that our cost of natural gas will rise. Even worse, while the rest of the state may see a 30% - 40% hike in their heating bills, we will see a spike of 55%. Aren't we special.Corning Gas customers to see high bills: Jim Robinson, Corning Natural Gas vice president, said Friday the local gas company was hit with price spikes brought on by supplies being interrupted by recent hurricanes.
As a result, the company was forced to pay for its supply in advance. In previous years, Corning Natural Gas was allowed to pay suppliers on credit for the gas it provided customers. “It had a tremendous impact on our cash flow,” Robinson said. “That's really what it's all about.”
HOMEOWNERS WARM UP TO ALTERNATIVE$: As the cost of fuel soars, homeowners are turning down thermostats, buying electric blankets and heaters and weighing other alternatives — such as stoves that use wood-chip-and-sawdust pellets that resemble rabbit food. Those are hot numbers. "As soon as we get them in, they're off our shelves," said Home Depot spokesman Yancey Casey. Thanks in part to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the price of staying warm is expected to skyrocket. The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that homeowners who use natural gas will pay at least 46 percent more and those who use heating oil at least 31 percent more.
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Then there's Ed Seale of Stormville, N.Y., who installed a pellet stove three years ago yet found himself on a waiting list last month — for pellets.
And their cost?
Up 150 percent.
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Monday, October 31, 2005
OCTOBER 2005
Here's the whole month in one composite picture. You can see all 31 October pictures here. I think I'll continue taking a daily photo until the trees are bare.*
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
This is Ichabod. I named him Ichabod because we "acquired" him fifteen years ago on Halloween. He was just a tiny black ball of frightened fur who was dumped off in front of our home and immediately sought refuge under our porch. For a couple of days I tried coaxing him out by using food. Eventually he ventured out from his hiding place and darted off towards our then-neighbors, the Cranes, next door. There were four of us trying to catch him as he whizzed around and around the Cranes' house. Marla Crane said their cat would never tolerate another one, even if they could name him Ichabod Crane. So even though we already had two cats, I took him in. I love black cats and I simply couldn't resist this one. I took this picture years ago; it's the same porch which used to be his hiding place, and that's the Cranes' house in the background.Mr. Right is having some Halloween fun today.
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Sunday, October 30, 2005
GONE TO RUST
The fall coloring peaks when all the leaves have turned and they are at the most brilliant. It lasts a day, maybe two, usually mid-October, and then the coloring turns to rust. I don't think we had a peak this year. In fact, there are still some green trees, and yet the coloring has already gone to rust. It's all down hill now.Click to view all the October pictures.
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HALLOWEEN EVE FUN
Congratulations to my good friend, Blue, who won a costume contest Friday where she works:We had a costume contest today at work, so I wore a black sweatshirt with a calendar page reading “Sunday Oct. 30” on the front – get it? I went as “a day off!” What does EVERYBODY at work want, eh? Hey, it was a cash prize (for Most Innovative) – hard to beat!!!
That's not the sweatshirt that she wore; it's one I whipped up with the computer. Did it look like that?
Elsewhere ...
8 For your Halloween delight, the very clever Mr. Right has whipped up his own versions of popular movies in his Halloween Cavalcade of Horrors! Here's just a sampler:
I Know What You Did the Summer Before Last
Stars: Patrick Fitzgerald, Judith Miller, Robert Novak, Lewis Libby, Karl Rove, Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame
Spectres from the past come back to haunt those who couldn't keep a nonexistent secret and some seem sure to "get the hook."
Old Frankenstein
Stars: John Kerry
A crazed madman tries to resurrect a monstrous, lumbering, slow-witted and very, very dead Presidential Campaign and have it run again in the next election.
The Witches of East-ICK!
Stars: Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi
Three nasty, hideous old hags cast their spells on the press and the brain-dead zombies of their far-left army, but can they manage to trick the public into buying the illusion that they are "mainstream"?
8 A new twist on Vlad Dracula: Robin Hood, King Arthur, Charlemagne—great heroes all, with legends enhanced by classics of literature. But Dracula?
