imkittymyers at hotmail dot com
Saturday, August 20, 2005
GASBAGS
Her Royal C has been observing bumpy fish in Alaska and decided that di$cu$$ion$ on global warming are in order. It's been warm in Alaska lately, so naturally it must be global warming, right? Alaska may be synonymous with snow and ice, but the fact is that Alaska has summer weather, too.
Alaska Climate: The Highs and Lows
Many weather-related myths surround Alaska's climate. One of the most common is that summers in Alaska are cool. In fact, like much of the United States, Alaska has four seasons and weather records at both ends of the thermometer. Alaska's summers are warm with highs that can reach into the 90s. Ft. Yukon holds the all-time record with a sizzling 100°F temperature recorded in 1915.
In fact ...
This July turned out to be quite a different story, weather-wise, than July of 2004. Several areas in Alaska reported below normal temperatures for July, including Fairbanks, Barrow, Nome, and Juneau. Anchorage and King Salmon both had above normal temperatures for the month [+1.9* F and +1.6* F respectively].
Greenhouse Hypocrisy
What we have now is a respectable charade. Politicians and advocates make speeches, convene conferences and formulate plans. They pose as warriors against global warming. The media participate in the resulting deception by treating their gestures seriously. One danger is that some of these measures will harm the economy without producing significant environmental benefits. Policies motivated by political gain will inflict public pain. Why should anyone applaud?
h/t Michael Fumento
Back in the 70s, global cooling was the scare tactic. I remember this very well. From Newsweek, April 28, 1975,
The Cooling World: There are ominous signs that the Earth’s weather patterns have begun to change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food production– with serious political implications for just about every nation on Earth. The drop in food output could begin quite soon, perhaps only 10 years from now. The regions destined to feel its impact are the great wheat-producing lands of Canada and the U.S.S.R. in the North, along with a number of marginally self-sufficient tropical areas – parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indochina and Indonesia – where the growing season is dependent upon the rains brought by the monsoon.
Click here for your very own Hillary mousepad :)
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KICKBACK WEEKEND TIDBITZ
For entertainment quickies, you can't do any better than the 30-Second Bunnies Theater productions of classic movies. (They're adding "The Big Chill" next month!) Check them all out when you surf over to ...Watch the Bunny interview!
During the Starz-sponsored bunnies satellite media tour (last Friday, 8/12), the spokesbunny & I fielded questions for 15 different interviews. On television, the newscasters asked the spokesbunny the above questions, and then they'd cut to him answering them. It was a lot of fun!
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Detainees under Harry Potter's spell: Harry Potter's worldwide popularity is so broad-based that it has become favorite reading for Islamic terror suspects at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay…. J.K. Rowling's tales about the boy wizard are on top of the request list for the camp's 520 al Qaeda and Taliban suspects, followed by Agatha Christie whodunits.h/t Blue
Garth finds new home at Wal-Mart: Country music superstar Garth Brooks is coming only to a Wal-Mart near you. Brooks, the top-selling country singer, agreed to sell his music exclusively through Wal-Mart Stores. His recordings will be available online and at all Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. I'm not a drinker, but I actually tried this.*
Friday, August 19, 2005
SIX WORDS
I sweated over six lousy words, but I figured if Bombtruck can post his sentence, I can, too. It's #189, if you're interested. Did you sweat over it too, Bombtruck?*
NO, NOT OLIVER STONE!
Cindy reports 9/11 FILM TO SHOW A 'POSITIVE' STORY A movie's coming down on 9/11. Its filmmaker, Oliver Stone, is as much a lightning rod as the architectural designs for some day's rebuilt World Trade Center. To be told through the eyes of those there that day, it is, supposedly, if one can understand how, a "positive" story. Many monitoring the project are anything but positive about it. They hate the idea. It's a no win. As years go by, every turn brings more grief. … The story is told through two Port Authority policemen who were involved from the beginning. Despite multiple injuries, the one played by Nic Cage is still alive. … The project so far remains untitled.
This link will be timeout when Cindy posts her next column.
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DON'T MESS WITH JESS
Jessica Alba punches out a shark! Jessica recently confirmed her hard-woman status when she punched a shark on the nose while filming her new movie. The sexy actress was shooting underwater scenes in the Bahamas for upcoming film 'Into The Blue' when the deadly fish swam too close for comfort. So Jessica lashed out and managed to scare the shark away.
She revealed: "I jabbed him on the nose and he swam off".
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Thursday, August 18, 2005
126 AND COUNTING ...
The Phantom Professor's first assignment, Write one compelling sentence, has generated 126 responses so far, and the deadline isn't until next Tuesday! Even if you don't plan on participating in this free writing workshop, the responses are worth checking out. Please NOTE: There is one from a "Kitty," but it's not I. I have not written my sentence yet. I'll let you know when I do.Here are some of my favorites:
Foobar said...
I do enjoy wearing spandex.
jeanrhys said...
She knew that one day these children would kill her.
SuperHolmie said...
My pants were stuck to me like Saran Wrap on pudding.
Seraphim said...
He walked in like a star and out like a ghost.
Social Bill said...
She left in a huff and a sportscar.
Blog ho said...
Ok, so maybe the hook hands weren't the best idea I had come up with but now that they're a part of me and there's all this pasta to eat I may as well dig in.
Adam said...
Naked, she wasn't at all what I expected.
dink said...
Sadly for Des, his pants split long before he did.
Here's the first quiz: Word Snobs, Unite for Quiz 1*
YES, THAT TOMMY LEE!
Will wonders ever cease? Zappa loved Motley Crue at one time; he even tried to look like them. Now Zappa is all grown up, married with three kids and beginning to experience the joys of one of his own maneuvering adolescence (a-hem, *smile*).Tommy Lee, scholar:
Surprise rocker Tommy Lee? There's not much that can shake him these days. But when he sat in a class at the University of Nebraska/Lincoln and saw several students cheating on a test, he was blown away. "That ain't cool," he says during a phone interview from California. "I'm busting my nn- to get through this and they're cheating." Worse yet? "As soon as their pens hit the desk, they went straight to the bar and started partying...and it was one in the afternoon." h/t The Phantom Professor
Cruising the news ...
Proof that Jude Law has not had the benefit of a Mohel. Dr. DiSaia’s assessment: “Poor guy.” h/t Rachel Beautifully said (from a soldier's wife) Black Eyed Peas, Glorifying Communism PRISON FOR 7B SPAMS Spurlock Food Scare a Super Size Scam Nebraska Mom Demands Meeting With Dairy Queen CEO*
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
A CANADIAN DINGHY
Don't say anything, but the weather has improved. There's a crispness to the atmosphere, the kind that tells you there is a God after all. It's not like a Canadian clipper has blown through, more like a Canadian dinghy. I baked two loaves of pumpkin zucchini bread this morning. I would have lit a candle, Yankee's spiced pumpkin fragrance, but I thought that would be tempting fate a bit too much.In the news ...
AggravatedDocSurg reports: One of my all-time favorite comedians, John Cleese, will soon be faced with "something completely different" -- he's due to have a colectomy for diverticular disease. One wonders about the potential banter in that operating room! We rather frequently have battling "Holy Grail" quotefests in our OR, and I must admit that I am most partial to Cleese's French insult sequences. INTERBLOGATORY HITS: a great piece of satire on the 9/11 Commission; a report about yet another 9/11 memo which was never included in their report; and a bit of Kinky. NUDE JUDE'S NOT A HUGE ISSUE: In snapshots that recall George Costanza's infamous "shrinkage" episode on "Seinfeld," the love-rat actor's meager manhood is on full display as he changes into a swimsuit outside his mother Maggie Law's house in Vaudelnay, France. "He's no Tommy Lee, that's for sure." Playgirl's hunks? The hairy, chubby & poor!: Playgirl asked 2,000 of its readers what they find sexy in a man and the answers were surprising: 42% said they thought love handles were kind of sexy and 47% approved of chest hair. … Rich playboys need not apply - only 4% of women said the size of a man's wallet mattered. Metrosexuals are also out: 73% want a guy who is "rough around the edges." A Threat to Society: Not far from here, a guy tried to turn himself in for murder ... and the police refused to take him. Why? They can't afford his medical bills. AwfulPasticSurgery has post a picture of Whitesnake singer David Coverdale, and I swear to God that I did not believe the picture was a guy. There’s even a suggestion of cleavage. Is he transgendering or something?*
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
LESSON #1
Here's another fabulous opportunity ... FREE ... from The Phantom Professor for all writers, wannabe writers and those who wonder if they have what it takes to write.Writing Workshop Lesson 1
The goal of this online writing workshop will be to get you writing on a regular schedule. That’s a start. Your ultimate goal should be to finish the thing you’re writing. That means not becoming discouraged by the time it takes to get something right and not getting your feelings bruised by critiques. It means not giving up.
…
Here’s your first writing assignment: Write one compelling sentence.
Note that the Phantom Prof wants you to Post your sentence in "Comments" here, please. Deadline: Aug. 23. UPDATE: The responses are piling up quickly. You should check them out as some are pretty good!*
While we're on the subject, I hope NOBODY buys this book because she knew Jacko was guilty but voted for acquittal anyway!: "I listened to the testimony ... all the signs were there, and I believed them. "But you don't sit near me, with your son's posterior in my legal purview, and give me a fresh look - because I'll make those tiny glutes famous, sunshine," says Cook in her proposal, addressing the mom directly.*
TWO YEARS AGO ...
Two years ago, there was a massive blackout. Lucianne reported:
News Summary for Easterners as they return from Blackout 2003 and wonder what else happened:
- As might be expected during a crisis, our leaders hopped to and carried out their role with stunning efficiency. Yes, the Republicans went to work solving the problem and the liberals took to the airwaves to complain about Bush. For example, Hildabeast and the Bengal Tiger were Larry King Live's guests. Yes, Hillary had to cut short her book signing tour to race back to her hotel room and hit the phones. Both Grayout [Davis] and Hillary used the blackout as an opportunity to inform us that the blackout (1.) Never would have happened during the previous Administration and (2.) Never could happen in California where Grayout (''I AM the governor'') Davis is busy taking care of the people's business.
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Monday, August 15, 2005
COMING AND GOING
Nurse G and Mr. Curly Pink Mohawk flew away very early this morning. They're going to visit Nurse G's college room mate, who is also a nurse. It's Pink Mohawk's very first plane ride. It's Nurse G's first plane ride with a not-quite-yet-4-year-old. Especially noted is the fact that C.O. is not going with them ... it's that job thingie ... so Nurse G is on her own with a typically antsy-active little boy ... pardon me, BIG kid ... who has not yet mastered patience. They have a three hour delay at O'Hare. THREE HOURS! With Mr. Antsy Curly Pink Mohawk. Oh joy. For the past week, we've all taken turns giving Mr. Antsy Pants Pink Mohawk the "there are bad people out there" talk. I never had to give Zappa and Nurse G this talk, at least not at this age. It's maddening to think that there's a need to tell these things to a preschooler, that their innocense must be jaded as a precaution. But that's another rant for another day. However, I am as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockers. I won't rest until Nurse G has called to say they've arrived safe'n'sound.Also off, to places unknown, is Miss Snark:
Sayonara Snarklings! Back on 8/28
Suitcase packed!
Hatbox packed!
Reticule contents: sunglasses, fold up gin pail, passport, emergency chocolate rations, George Clooney's cell phone number and a wallet stuffed with freshly laundered credit cards.
And returning to her ByrdDroppings for our blog-surfing pleasure is Lorie ... with Oklahoma Pictures: I took the picture from inside the car because there was no fence between us and buffalo. I wanted a good picture, but I am not insane.
I miss the Pink Mohawk already ... siiiiiiiigh ...
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OVER WHERE?
I have not watched Steven Bochco's new show OVER THERE. Seeing the previews (while watching RESCUE ME) were more than enough for me. However, Michael Fumento has watched the show and, as I suspected, Bochco has decided the War on Terror is the same as Vietnam. Be sure to check out the pictures Mr. Fumento took while embedded with the EOD. Btw, I hear the ratings took a nosedive after the first episode.Bochco's Botched and Biased "Over There"
Particularly appalling to me was a slam against Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). It simply fails to show up to disarm a vehicle packed with enough explosives to blow up Rhode Island. I was embedded with the EOD unit of the 8th Engineer Support Battalion at Camp Fallujah. They react to calls with the speed of firefighters (or Domino's pizza) and coolly and professionally carry out some of the most dangerous jobs of the war.
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There have got to be a thousand true inspiring stories of courage and kindness by coalition troops during the war, but don't expect to see them on "Over There." The wealthy Mr. Bochco certainly had the resources to tour Iraq before slandering our military and turning FX into the Al Jazeera Channel. But he didn't. Perhaps he was afraid of seeing what the real truth is over there.
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I'D BUY SOME JIMMY CHOOS INSTEAD
Dr. DiSaia, a board certified plastic surgeon in San Clemente, Ca., has a blog called Truth In Cosmetic Surgery. He posted before and after close-ups of one of his patients who had lip filler injections.Hyaluronic acid (HA) gels last anywhere from 2-3 months. They resorb slowly. I no longer offer collagen (so I don't know what this costs), but these HA gels are sold by the syringe which costs $500. The lady pictured had one syringe. Fat injections swell much more and resorb similarly. There is also the issue of the donor site when using fat transfer and the cost is more (about twice the $$$$).
I honestly could not see any significant difference. The good doc disagrees ... natch. So I placed the photos side by side, and cropped out all but the lips (and labeled them), for a better comparison. I tried to adjust the brightness and contrast to diminish those differences. I think whatever a person does (legally) to enhance their looks and/or their self esteem is fine. In this particular case, I think this must be a placebo effect. Personally, I think she might have gotten as much out of a pair of Jimmy Choos for the money she spent. This procedure was the patient's choice, and my opinion is not meant as a slight in any way to Dr. DiSaia.
Lip Fillers - Hylaform - A Modest Enlargement
While we have all seen the freakish outcomes in celebrities, I thought I'd present a case of a modest enlargement. In this case I used Hylaform. This patient was injected twice two weeks apart with about half a single unit each time to get the results you see a week after the second injection (after image is at bottom right). She had no bruising and was out and about the evening after each injection. There is swelling that resolves, but in modest enlargements, the freakish celebrity results are nowhere to be found.
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