went to the ballet last night. it's been awhile. it was nice of one of my students' families to invite me. it was nice to be in the 3rd row.

but i felt a bit strange. i used to go to the ballet all the time, thanks to the freebies which i took major advantage of. i remember all the excitement of the diamond projects, etc. but last night...i felt slightly removed. yes, lots of places in the scenes moved me to tears, the pure athleticism, how human bodies can be manipulated into doing things that LOOKED so effortless...

what i'm trying to say is, i felt strange watching something so animated, obviously with a story line (this being the Swan Lake), yet i felt like i was watching a mime show! all the gesturing, expressions (good thing about seating so close yet bad)... i half expected them to sing arias.

maybe i've grown up in my musical/arts life and i expect more from an artistic event. perhaps i'm just a snob.

plus, ABT wasn't very good. i never remembered them as good. they lack the consistency of a true company (like NYCB). its principals are fair enough but that's about it.

in order to judge a real good dance company is to sit around 1st or 2nd tiers and see how the company really does the company dance (formations).

okay, so i am the new asian jackie kennedy, sans the pillbox hat. just got my hair chopped off at bumble and bumble as a hair model and they did a great job! but over did the blow-drying. so now i have a 50's hair-do, just need to go to the white house for a tea with the prez.

it was very interesting! during the 90 min hair-cut, my stylist and his "instructor" consulted repeatedly on my hair (i felt so important), heard hair-cut lingo (e.g. "need more tension here in the back," "just like this, the sushi chef style" <---???). FUN!

all did cost: $10 (i gave my stylist a tip)

i highly recommend it if you're going for a CHOP CHOP!

i think this will be VERY HANDY! i've been seeing this around town and had wondered...LOVE DRIVING!

i love bible studies. i am learning a lot - again and again.

this morning i learned - ONCE AGAIN (romans 8) - that our time here is so fleeting, that our eyes really have to be on the life AFTER this one. that one really does lift up - if only emotionally - a LOT of my cumbersome worries**.

i don't know why...but i get such overwhelming feelings when i read the bible, even if it's so dense that i can't really grasp it clearly at 7:30 AM in the morning. especially this:

26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:26-27)

and then i get the "don't worry, be happy" song in my head...

***i have to sell my piano in order to prepare for a roommate in august, and speaking of which, to get a SANE roommie!

yes, i love my short ribs (the bottom dish). I LOVED IBIZA!!! it's the only reason to go up to new haven...yes, the only reason!

watched tristan & isolde the movie yesterday and had to stop after 10 min. awful stuff. it's like eating beef tongue.

anyhoo, i've been pretty tired with work & life in general. i think i get pretty hung up on LIST OF THINGS TO DO, and believe me, it's not fun stuff on that! so there i was, waiting for the R train on the 59th street station, feeling restless yet fatigued, when i looked up suddenly and saw the word JESUS scrawled on a dusty door on the wall, right opposite of the platform. whether it was a joke by someone (to cross the track, then write that...) or not, it gave me a bit of a mental jolt. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I said, "Let me walk in the fields.
He said, "No; walk in the town."
I said, "There are no flowers there.
He said, "No flowers but a crown."
I said, "But the skies are black,There is nothing but noise and din."
And He wept as He sent me back;"There is more," He said. "There is sin."
I said, "But the air is thick, And fogs are veiling the sun."
He answered, "Yet souls are sick, And souls in the dark undone."
I said, "I shall miss the light, And friends will miss me, they say."
He answered, "Choose tonight If I am to miss you, or they."

I pleaded for time to be given.
He said, "Is it hard to decide? It will not seem hard in Heaven To have followed the steps of your Guide."
I cast one look at the fields, Then set my face to the town.
He said, "My child, do you yield?Will you leave the flowers for a crown?"
Then into His hand went mine;And into my heart came He;
And I walked in a light divine,The path I had feared to see.

"What Christ Said" by George MacDonald

i'm a proselytizer. i have an opinion about anything and everything and then i try to sell it to you. i'm a born publicist yet i find it so annoying that i do that, over and over again. what's so great about what I think is so special? why am i so convinced?

if i was doing that with the Message, perhaps i'd be a happier person, instead of being a forceful person. i don't know. i have all my priorities screwed up.

Tuesday May 30, 2006
From Roger Ebert's Movie Page
The 'Da Vinci' woes
May 28, 2006
Q. Why did you refer to the novel The Da Vinci Code as a "preposterous" work of fiction, yet fail to label the Bible as such? Do you honestly believe the Bible is a work of non-fiction? Aren't parts of the Bible "preposterous"? If your devotion to institutionalized religion colors your ability to write logically, perhaps you should recuse yourself from reviewing films that require an unbiased view.Fred Schultz, DallasA. The job of a critic is to express an opinion. If critics recused themselves from reviewing anything on which they held an opinion, there would be no criticism. The purpose of my review of "The Da Vinci Code" was not to review the Bible but to review the film adaptation of a novel.

Seepea's view: If you didn't like his review, then don't read it. Nobody told you to read his reviews and apply it in your life. DUH.Even doing that made some readers unhappy.

Here is Lara Coates of Kennewick, Wash.: "Maybe you should stick to reviewing the movie instead of reviewing and insulting people who might entertain the ideas that Dan Brown suggests. Although Brown's suggestions may be preposterous, as you suggest, there is no way for anyone to know exactly what happened during Jesus' time. I guarantee you that I am of 'sound mind' even though I question the validity of the Bible."Ebert again: Some of the material on which Brown's book is based did not originate in the time of Jesus, but is a French forgery from the 1950s. "60 Minutes" did a segment about that.

Seepea's view: if you're of "sound mind," don't write to movie critics. They're what they are: A CRITIC (that tells you that they have their OWN OPINION). DOUBLE DUH.
Posted 5/30/2006 at 12:42 PM

Saturday May 27, 2006
SocietyWanted: New Roommaid
Willing to swap free rent for chores? A new living arrangement falls back on old-school gender roles
By JENINNE LEE-ST. JOHN
May 1, 2006
Shorty after Stephen McCarthy moved to Las Vegas in 2004, he offered a female friend an interesting proposition: if she kept the place tidy, cleaned up after his dog Maya and brought in the paper each morning, she could live in his house rent free. It worked well until, McCarthy says, his friend began to get possessive, jealously questioning him when he went out on dates. Her argument that she had a right to ask after his whereabouts since she did "everything, just like a wife," prompted him to ask her to move out after a year. "That's the point," the divorced architect says. "I didn't want a wife."
Well, not exactly. But like a growing number of unmarried men, McCarthy, 54, did want someone to look after him without having to take on the financial burden of hiring a housekeeper or the emotional commitment of living with a lover. He found the solution in what you might call an adult au pair. With more Americans single than ever and rents sky high in cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, many women are open to the idea of keeping house for a casual acquaintance or even a stranger in exchange for a rent-free place to stay--as long as there are no sexual strings attached. According to nationwide matching service RoommateExpress.com about 25% of its male clients specifically ask for a female barter roommate, up from less than 10% just three years ago.
These relationships horrify some feminists. "It fits in with traditional economic patterns and gender roles," says Pamela Smock, a sociologist at the University of Michigan. For men, she says, "this is one of the biggest examples of hedging your bets that I've ever seen." But women who have tried them say the arrangements offer them perks too. "I do this to save money," says Veronica Verve, 28, who moved to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2004 and since then has lived with four different men in exchange for cooking their meals. "I like to be mobile and don't want to live in a dumpy apartment that I could actually afford."
Still, the men usually set the parameters for how the relationships will work. McCarthy invited the 62-year-old retired schoolteacher who moved in last October to view his house as her own--but within limits: he forbade her to have male guests. "If you've got girlfriends, fine, bring them over. But I don't want guys hanging out here," he says. "It's too much testosterone." She moved out in December.
Setting house rules early on can stave off sexual tension and feelings of being used. Ken Mackay, 29, a New Yorker who has had a dozen people (mostly women) live in his two-bedroom Harlem apartment in exchange for help with his dog-training business, used to ask his roommates to "find some time" to help out, but he now requires them to dedicate three hours each weekday to those chores. Similarly, Gerry Freitas, an athletic recruiter based in San Jose, Calif., enjoyed a collegial relationship with his housemate but asked her to leave after she started slacking off on the typing she had agreed to do in exchange for reduced rent. "I can't say, 'I have a nice friend,' and let my work fall by the wayside," he says.
For the women, the big challenge is weeding out the guys who are looking for sex--or a topless housekeeper or a personal masseuse--from the ones who genuinely want a platonic setup. Verve, who found her roommates by posting ads at grocery stores, says life got uncomfortable with one man, a music producer, when he began complaining, "'You cook for me, and then you just run off.' I was like, 'That's what I'm here for. Not to watch sports with you.'" Men also worry about sending confusing signals. McCarthy says he "purposefully picked someone I wasn't attracted to." Freitas goes further: he says it would be easier if his next housemate is a lesbian. "I'd like to meet somebody," he says, "but it's not going to be my roommate."
Of course, human relations aren't as easily managed as real estate transactions. "There have been one or two occasions when I've gotten involved," admits Bruce Kramer, 57, a divorced auctioneer who has had more than 12 people in as many years do housekeeping in exchange for free rent in his Brewster, N.Y., home. "Guys," he says, "always have it in the back of their mind."—With reporting by With reporting by Amanda Bower/San Francisco
Posted 5/27/2006 at 1:47 AM

Saturday May 20, 2006
A new government rule will soon allow American chicken meat to be exported to China to be processed, then shipped back.
By Parija Bhatnagar,
CNNMoney.com staff writer
May 19, 2006: 4:33 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - American chicken could soon be making plenty of round-trip visits to China.
The Department of Agriculture last month certified China as eligible to export processed chicken meat to the United States -- but with one caveat. The chicken has to be American.
In other words, American chicken will travel across the ocean once and return cooked and canned - to be sent on its way to a supermarket shelf near you.
The U.S. is the world's largest poultry producer. Almost all of the chicken consumed by Americans last year, valued at $50 billion, was produced domestically at about 30,000 chicken farms across the country. Total chicken production in 2005 totaled about 35 billion pounds.
If the U.S. is already self-sufficient in meeting its own chicken demand, what's the economic rational behind this China deal?
A bird-brained idea?
Some trade experts said the chicken deal could have been an effort by Washington to offer something to Beijing as U.S. officials keep pressing the Chinese on the value of their currency and other trade issues. The U.S. runs a bigger trade deficit with China than any other country.
Parr Rosson, an agricultural economist with Texas A&M University, said he was hard-pressed to spot the benefits to U.S. consumers and producers.
Paul Aho, an economist who studies the poultry industry, agreed. He said canned chicken represents less than 1 percent of the poultry industry. "On the U.S. side, this deal doesn't even matter," he said.
Even the DOA acknowledged in a report that the volume of trade stimulated by the deal - estimated at 2.5 to 6 million pounds of processed American chicken - was so small as to have "little effect on supply and prices." But the deal could affect U.S. producers "in the form of greater competition from China."
Aho said he doesn't see many advantages to the U.S. but there are some potential benefits to China.
"The Chinese tend to think long-term. This certification almost acts as a stamp of approval and gives them leverage to negotiate trade for their chicken with other countries," Aho said, noting China cannot currently export chicken products to the United States.
What does the U.S. poultry industry think?
Richard Lobb, spokesman for the National Chicken Council, said the council isn't "opposed to the deal or in favor of it" although he did disclose that the group has gotten more calls recently about the chicken deal than about the Avian Flu.
"This is not an idea that we proposed nor was it proposed by any of our members," he said. "It came from the Chinese government."
China was the third-largest export market for U.S. poultry last year behind Russia and Mexico, importing some 156,000 tons of chicken. Given the sizeable import volume, Lobb said, China was probably interested in trying to level the playing field somewhat by exporting more to the U.S.
Ruffled feathers in Congress
Steven Cohen, spokesman for the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), said the agency undertook an evaluation of China's certification after China's requested approval to export poultry products to the United States.
The rule takes effect on May 24. Technically, China can start to crank up its processing plants soon. But word of the deal has ruffled a few feathers in Congress.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) sponsored an amendment to the 2007 agricultural spending bill to block any government spending that would support implementing the new rule.
"Despite warnings from FSIS's own inspectors of the safety of Chinese plants, and the possibility that we could bring a pandemic into our borders, imports will soon be coming into our country," DeLauro said in a statement this month. "The reasoning is completely inconsistent - this policy should not move forward. We need to stop this rule and we can do so with this amendment."
In an interview with CNNMoney.com, DeLauro said it "didn't make sense at all to bring in food products that have the potential for risking the public health of the people of the United States."
Patty Lovera with consumer interest group Food and Water Watch, said her group has been lobbying against the deal.
"We're very concerned about the equivalency measures being used. We're not currently importing chicken meat from China. So what systems do we have in place to check their systems?" she said. "The other issue is about safety. Do we really want to process our meat in a country where Avian Flu is a concern?"
Cohen at the FSIS dismissed the Flu concern. "Under the rule, China will process chicken that comes only from a country free of Avian Flu. Currently, that meat will come from the United States and Canada. The meat is also cooked and canned which should eliminate the food safetyissue," he said.
Tyson Foods (Research), the nation's biggest poultry processor, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Posted 5/20/2006 at 11:10 AM

Friday May 19, 2006
got you there! ha ha ha! no, i only saw her who happened to sit next to my table at Norma's this morning, noshing on french toast.
Posted 5/19/2006 at 11:27 AM

May 17, 2006 09:01:35
Stars and director of 'The Da Vinci Code' movie arrive at Cannes train station
By Mike Collett-White
CANNES, France (Reuters) - Critics panned "The Da Vinci Code" on Wednesday ahead of the world premiere of the year's most eagerly awaited movie.
Opening the annual Cannes film festival, Ron Howard's adaptation of the Dan Brown bestseller was described variously as "grim," "unwieldy" and "plodding."
Even before its general release on May 18 and 19, the movie starring Tom Hanks generated much controversy as Christians around the world called for it to be banned.
The novel has enraged religious groups because one of its characters argues that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had a child by her, and that elements within the Catholic Church resorted to murder to hide the truth.
In Thailand on Wednesday, a police-run censorship board overturned an earlier decision to cut the last 10 minutes of the film, but insisted the distributor added disclaimers stating it was fiction.
And in addition to Vatican calls to boycott the picture, the Indian government said it would show the movie to Christian groups before clearing it for release. In the mainly Catholic Philippines the censors have given it an "adult only" rating.
At a news conference, Howard and Hanks defended the film, calling it a piece of fiction. British actor Alfred Molina, who plays a Machiavellian bishop in the movie, blamed the media for creating controversy where there was little or none.
At a screening late on Tuesday in Cannes, members of the audience laughed at the thriller's pivotal moment, and the end of the $125 million picture was greeted with stony silence.
Trade publication Variety had barely a nice word to say.
"A pulpy page-turner in its original incarnation as a huge international bestseller has become a stodgy, grim thing in the exceedingly literal-minded film version of The Da Vinci Code," wrote Todd McCarthy.
Lee Marshall of Screen International agreed.
"I haven't read the book, but I just thought there was a ridiculous amount of exposition," he told Reuters.
"I thought it was plodding and there was a complete lack of chemistry between Audrey Tautou and Tom Hanks."
BOX OFFICE BLOW?
While critics argue the controversy surrounding the film, and the fact that more than 40 million people have bought the book, will ensure a strong box office performance, word-of-mouth is likely to hit sales later on.
The movie industry will be watching The Da Vinci Code particularly closely after the first two summer blockbusters -- "Mission: Impossible III" and "Poseidon" -- failed to find the Hollywood Grail of box office success.
Hanks defended the film against its critics.
"This is not a documentary. This is not something that is pulled up and says 'These are the facts and this is exactly what happened.' ... People who think things are true might be more dangerous than people who ponder the possibilities that maybe they are and maybe they aren't."
Howard had some advice for those who objected to the story.
"There's no question that the film is likely to be upsetting to some people. My advice is ... to not go and see the movie if you think you're going to be upset."
Ian McKellen, an openly gay actor who plays Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code, sought to make light of the controversy.
"I'm very happy to believe that Jesus was married," he said. "I know the Catholic Church has problems with gay people and I thought this would be absolute proof that Jesus was not gay."
The Da Vinci Code premiere late on Wednesday kicks off 12 hectic days of screenings, interviews, photocalls and partying in Cannes, the world's biggest film festival.
Posted 5/17/2006 at 10:45 AM

Monday May 15, 2006
this "all time american's greatest love story" did NOT extract ONE TEAR from me! boo!
Posted 5/15/2006 at 3:54 PM

Monday May 15, 2006
http://sandiegozoo.org/zoo/ex_panda_station.html

Sunday May 14, 2006
today was another "hot flash" of my many hormonal imbalance days. ridden with 5(!) allergy drugs (only 3 seasonal, do not worry dear reader), my body is a bit...temperamental. anyhoo!
feeling between gross and nauseated, i ventured forth to my church. i almost didn't go because of my aforementioned "illness."
today's sermon topic was SINGLENESS. now, i am confirmed that
a) this new church's pastors won't bother me with "so...are you dating?" questionsb) God's divine plan, whatever it may be (could it possible be me being...single to serve HIM? i don't know if He wants me to BE that dedicated!) is in motion
i knew of course of #b, but it's hard to really sink that in. not that i'm complaining. i'm completely fine as it is, whether poking things around in eharmony or not, it's all in Good Hands.
i think i just need to write this to just keep assuring myself.
Posted 5/14/2006 at 9:39 PM

Wednesday May 10, 2006
during my wednesday morning bible study, studying Romans 6, I realized something: the actual act of Christ dying for us, with us,...transforming us from FERAL CATS (like cute Maine Coons) to DOMESTIC CATS (like a Tabby). While it's great to be all knowing, all wild coons, devouring mice & whatever else at our will, answering to nobody, a tabby would be - against his/her will - be domesticated at home, with appropriate shots and such and not allowed to go outside. even though the tabby would get curious and sometimes do escape but always comes back (willingly or not), it is always welcomed and loved. that's the homebase.
i think this is a great theology.
Posted 5/10/2006 at 10:46 AM

Monday May 8, 2006
i've really realized something, a real home-run of a thought:
i don't have much faith in God. at least through my thinking & action, i don't have it. i am constantly waging an internal war against myself about this and/or that and it's all a testament to how i don't have much faith in God. it's a sad realization and really worries me (another thing to add on the check list!).
how can a person who wholly believes in God and all it stands for yet have such little faith? i think i'm a Peter and a Thomas all bundled together.
my life really isn't that bad to warrant such little faith in God. there's people out there with 1000x worse. yet...
please pray that i may truely be tested for faith in God...1000x over!
Posted 5/8/2006 at 11:58 AM

Sunday May 7, 2006
this is cheesy but pretty cool at the same time!
Posted 5/7/2006 at 2:21 PM

Tuesday May 2, 2006
it's a strange thing, this love. how can i love my nephew so much when i haven't even seen him yet??? plus i'm not big on babies as y'all know but wow, i love my Liam
Is God's love like this? unconditional? i know that already but it's really really hard to BELIEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Posted 5/2/2006 at 9:19 PM

Sunday April 30, 2006

April 30, 2006
Easter Island: The Dream at the End of the World
By EDWARD ALBEE
IS it possible to get to Easter Island without traveling a very long distance? No; it is not. If you live in New York City you will fly to Santiago, Chile — 11½ hours — rest a day, and then take another jet plane 5 hours into the Pacific to reach your goal. (And the planes go from Santiago only a couple of times a week.) The trip may be an hour shorter if you live in New Zealand, but don't count on it.
This tiny speck of South Pacific lava can be reached by boat, of course. That's how the Polynesians got there around A.D. 700, but it's a long, long trip by water. It's a long, long trip from anywhere by any means, but is it worth it? As they say in certain parts of our Middle West — "You bet!"
It took me 50 years to get there from the time I first heard of it. I'm not certain there was any semi-sensible way to get there (from anywhere) back then, but it was on my list, along with Egypt, the Aztec and Mayan cultures, Ayutthaya (the old capital of Siam, sacked by the Burmese in the 18th century), the Roman cities of Sabratha and Leptis Magna on the Libyan coast and other essential destinations. Now that Libya is open to us and has made available the prehistoric painted and carved art of the Fezzan Cliffs, I'll get there, having accomplished the others.
Way before the movie "Planet of the Apes" showed us the Statue of Liberty half buried in the sand, I have felt the need to experience cultures which grew, fell into decadence and vanished. These are probably cautionary tales even beyond their aesthetic marvel.
Why did Easter Island take so long to accomplish even after it was feasible? Well, people looked at me as if I was crazy: "You're going where!?" "You're kidding!" "For a couple of statues!?" I got busier and busier as the years went on, and so I put Easter Island on my "someday" list, along with the Gobi Desert and Antarctica (I know, that last one has gotten easy).
As my 78th birthday approached (three months after my 77th, it seemed), it occurred to me that unless I was planning to ask St. Peter to be my travel agent I'd better get cracking. I found an architect friend who wanted to go with me, and it was arranged, and we went. Was it worth it? As I wrote a couple of paragraphs back, "You bet!"
My five days on Easter Island have been one of the high points of my traveling life. I recommend it to anyone who's willing to spend the time on the island required for a full experience. A quick trip in and out (even if it could be arranged) would be such a waste. Cruise ships do drop by on rare occasions. One — a round-the-world tour of Japanese travelers — stayed two days while I was in residence, letting passengers off in small groups for a six-hour visit. It was barely enough time for them to photograph each other photographing the wonders.
EASTER Island (10 miles by 15 miles) was formed eons ago by three massive volcanoes rising from the sea. These — and lesser eruptions — formed the island, which, except for a minor area fit for farming and living, is lava with a thin layer of infertile soil. Most of the island is strewn with stone, with jagged cliffs for a coastline. The island is also strewn with over 800 gigantic and breathtaking statues averaging over 20 feet high. Only a relative few of these are upright and in original placement, but many of the rest can be seen and visited, half buried or prone. The experience is very much like visiting a fiction we have not imagined.
The island was settled — probably about A.D. 700; at least these are the newest estimates — by Polynesians exploring eastward. One group went northeast and found the Hawaiian Islands (uninhabited, of course) and another group went southeast and ended up on an island bare of people but covered with huge palm trees, naming it Rapa Nui (it was later renamed Easter Island by the captain of a Dutch ship that arrived there on Easter Sunday in 1722). These two groups traveled in large canoe-like vessels — double-hulled, perhaps — along with their small animals and fowl, and grain and root vegetables. The landing at Easter Island was difficult as there are only two small congenial beach areas on the entire island. But it was accomplished, and while further journeys may have brought new settlers, no one ever left Easter Island. There was no way home.
Shawn McLaughlin's essential book, "The Complete Guide to Easter Island" (Easter Island Foundation, 2004), deals in great detail with the settlement, growth and eventual, almost complete depopulation of the island. As well, it tells of the shameful treatment of the natives by European explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries and the self-destruction of their culture by the natives before the European invasions. It is a sad history, and you should know it before you go. The book describes in clear and specific terms the construction and moving and placement of the statues (moai) to the vast ceremonial stands (ahu) around the island. It is the one guide book you will need.
Five days are the minimum you should stay on the island to even begin to experience its extraordinary treasures (not to mention the wild and beautiful landscape — moonscape, sometimes.) While there are tours of various kinds available, I recommend that you go about on your own — having done your homework, of course. You should rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle and explore the island as you see fit, except I would strongly recommend that you not visit the huge volcanic quarry where the great figures were carved until first you've seen them on site. See the quarry on your fourth day, perhaps.
On your first day you really should visit the small but instructive anthropological museum, just a bit outside the town of Hanga Roa where you will be staying. Near it is the first set of statues you should visit, the Tahai complex. It's an easy introduction to the wonders ahead. Take your time. Absorb. Don't be rushed. And anything you see should be seen at least twice, preferably at different times of the day, for the statues become different experiences in different lights. And be sure to see them from all sides — for the hulking backs of these stone creatures are as moving as their fronts.
The three essential assemblages of statues are Ahu Akivi — to my mind the most beautiful on the island — seven giant figures staring out over the landscape with power and serenity; Ahu Tongariki, with 15 giant figures staring toward the quarry where they were formed, and Ahu Nau Nau, located at the pleasant beach called Anakena. These three must be visited, but there are so many other sites that two weeks could be profitably spent.
The island's being so small we managed to spend lunchtime each day at Anakena, where good food (grilled tuna and chicken with root vegetables) is available, and still be able to visit a site in the morning, and another late afternoon. One paved road reaches from the town of Hanga Roa to Anakena Beach and tributary dirt roads to wherever else you want to go. There are several hundred free-roaming horses on the island, families mostly, and they often share the roads with you but are thoughtful in moving aside. We saw a few cows and some birds, but there was no sign of the 70,000 sheep which once crowded the island. In the town of Hanga Roa there are many stray dogs; they are very friendly.
It is said that there are scorpions and black widow spiders about — the latter in the tall grasses. I saw none, my eyes being elsewhere, but long trousers and boots are a wise dress code.
The quarry itself is on one of the two volcanoes you must visit. They are called Rano Raraku and Rano Kau. The view (both inward and outward from the rims of these volcanoes) is spectacular. Each is filled with a lake of great dimension. The quarry at Rano Raraku faces south toward the sea, and the extension hillside is studded with topsy-turvy figures abandoned on their way down the hillside; as well (higher up) with half completed sculptures not yet loosened from the rock. There are more inside the crater, where the black widow spiders are supposed to live. The view from the rim of this quarry is spectacular.
Equally spectacular is the view from the top of Rano Kau — the other volcano I mentioned. The interior lake is very large, and the view from the rim (where the petroglyphs are) straight down to the ocean is thrilling. Watch out for the wind, though. It can be fierce up there. It occurred to me that if I wasn't careful I was in danger of plunging down the craggy cliffs into the ocean, but I was, and so I didn't. Aside from the petroglyphs you'll also find the ancient town of Orongo — round stone houses from a millennium ago.
A few practical matters: the town — Hanga Roa — is not large and can be easily traversed by foot. There are 10 or 12 hotels (including a couple of relatively expensive ones a little way out which did not impress me), the most desirable one being the Hotel O'TAI, with lovely gardens, comfortable rooms, a pool, good breakfast, a friendly staff and reasonable rates. It is also a five-minute walk from what I found to be the best restaurant on the island, La Taverne du Pêcheur (reservations required). It is closed on Sundays, but you might be able to persuade Raul, who seems to run the Hotel Orongo (in town) to cook for you then. The people who live on Easter Island are friendly and often very beautiful.
The best months to visit Easter Island are from October to mid-March when the daily temperatures hover at 75 to 85 degrees. An early morning rain shower is common.
Since you'll be spending a day in Santiago both before and after your visit to Easter Island, there are a few things you should experience there. There is the extraordinary Pre-Colombian Museum in the center of town with quite amazing pieces from the various cultures from Central Mexico right down to Patagonia. And not far from this museum is the wonderful Central Market, a great wrought-iron structure having in it huge fish markets as well as seafood restaurants. If you have never experienced the tiny nail-size baby eels sautéed in olive oil and garlic (which I first enjoyed in Madrid) just forget you're eating eel and have a wonderful meal. Santiago itself is a little grubby but what else would you expect after nearly 20 years of military dictatorship, fortunately now ended. The Santiago Crown Plaza Hotel is central and quite comfortable.
But don't dawdle! You're there for Easter Island.
I was shocked, shortly after I returned, to learn of a proposal for a gambling casino on the island. We all know that gambling casinos bring crime, and we also know that they benefit absentee owners infinitely more than they do the populace where they are located, and those of us who have been there know that any benefits a casino might accrue to the populace would be devalued by the corruption of such an enterprise. Those of you who treasure Easter Island as I do would do well to write the Chilean government to protest this ill-advised venture. However, you might want to get to Easter Island rather soon. As I said, don't dawdle.
Let me quote from Mr. McLaughlin's essential book on Easter Island, for he describes the experience you will have as well as anyone could.
"What really makes Easter Island unique among the ancient places of the world is its preservation of the lifecycle of Neolithic ritual. Most realms of antiquity, like Pompeii or Machu Picchu, are frozen in time or represent the final manifestation of a culture, its zenith. But on Easter Island you can see the birth, life, and death of the ancient culture — the womb of the moai in the statue quarry, the stately triumph of the moai on their platforms, and the solemn (some might say pitiful) decadence of their fall from grace ... the moai lying deaf, dumb, and blind in the volcanic dust whence they came."
For many Easter Island will be a once in a lifetime experience — literally and figuratively. But I plan to go back, and more than once. I want to bring special friends with me, people who will appreciate the experience. I want to see the rapture in their eyes as they live with the wonders.
Edward Albee is the three time Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist whose plays include "Three Tall Woman," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "The Goat, or, Who Is Sylvia?"
Posted 4/30/2006 at 11:15 AM

Friday April 28, 2006
from http://www.ew.com/ about one of the tribeca film fest movies:
Eric Steel’s controversial documentary The Bridge made me feel conflicted. Steel trained cameras on the Golden Gate Bridge for a year and caught more than 20 people committing suicide. In addition to interviews with victim’s families and friends, several of the suicides are shown. It’s a unique movie and it’ll get you thinking about the morality of filming death, not to mention your own death.
Posted 4/28/2006 at 4:29 PM
Friday April 28, 2006
not that i have ANYTHING to do with ANY kind of investments (all i know are Checking accounts. I don't even know what it means to save! ), this is pretty scary!
Posted 4/28/2006 at 3:35 PM

Wednesday April 26, 2006
Woke up early to go to this Wednesday morning bible study that meets at Harvard Club at 7:30 AM. Saw that I got a txt message from my brother that my SIL went into labor at 4 AM. I'm finally going to be an AUNTIE! I'm very excited. I can't wait to meet Liam. He sure took his time!
Bible study at 7:30 AM was on Romans 5. This passage of course is the pinnacle of what we strive towards:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
So..."right" yet so hard to really put into work in my life. I love that God is working things in my life I have no control of yet I constantly complain that I want it this and that way. In any case, wonderful thing to study at 7:30 AM before the day starts. Beautiful setting and interesting people (mostly married men in their...50's? 60's?). I love this associate pastor at the church! He's so energetic and insightful. Good stuff.
Then onto Rock Center for dentist for more x-rays and probing and slapping on the back of "you're looking great!" and of course he means, my gum, not me per se.
It was a busy morning but good to start with Good News of all kind.
Posted 4/26/2006 at 10:26 AM

"Star Trek" franchise set for 2008 revival: report
April 20, 2006 02:13:34
Actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than three years after the last "Star Trek" movie crashed at the box office, the venerable sci-fi franchise is being revived by the director of the upcoming "Mission: Impossible" sequel, Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition.
The as-yet-untitled "Star Trek" feature, the 11th since 1979, is aiming for a fall 2008 release through Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc. unit looking to restore its box-office luster under new management, the trade paper said.
The project will be directed by J.J. Abrams, whose Tom Cruise vehicle "Mission: Impossible III" will be released by Paramount on May 5. Abrams, famed for producing the TV shows "Alias" and "Lost," will also help write and produce.
Daily Variety said the action would center on the early days of "Star Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer-space mission.
The paper described "Star Trek" as Hollywood's most durable performer after James Bond, spawning 10 features that have grossed more than $1 billion and 726 TV episodes from six series.
The 10th film, "Star Trek: Nemesis," bombed at the box office on its December 2002 release, earning just $43 million in North America. Last year, Viacom-owned broadcast network UPN pulled the plug on the low-rated series "Star Trek: Enterprise" following a four-season run.
Posted 4/21/2006 at 9:49 AM

Wednesday April 19, 2006
i don't get why they had to wait til this open-cage/lift worked to get people out, which took all night. couldn't they just get a helicopter and bust people out? i bet they would've done that if the prez was in there or somethin'. it's just not right.
Posted 4/19/2006 at 11:11 AM

Tuesday April 18, 2006
he is so cute!
Posted 4/18/2006 at 1:5 PM

Monday April 17, 2006
i had a very full 3-day weekend. i caught up with many things but still didn't get to:
attack my "shred pile"
pull out more items to set aside for ebaying later
but otherwise, i got to do some work, watch some dvds (crying over steel magnolias again), went to a bible study(!), heard a very moving concert at cloisters for easter and of course, attended church for easter and had communion. i'm pretty sure i found THE church!
overall, it's been a good weekend.
Posted 4/17/2006 at 8:31 AM

Wednesday April 12, 2006
HAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Posted 4/12/2006 at 10:42 PM

Tuesday April 11, 2006
AMEN! church & state are completely separate!

April 9, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Christ Among the Partisans
By GARRY WILLS
Chicago
THERE is no such thing as a "Christian politics." If it is a politics, it cannot be Christian. Jesus told Pilate: "My reign is not of this present order. If my reign were of this present order, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here" (John 18:36). Jesus brought no political message or program.
This is a truth that needs emphasis at a time when some Democrats, fearing that the Republicans have advanced over them by the use of religion, want to respond with a claim that Jesus is really on their side. He is not. He avoided those who would trap him into taking sides for or against the Roman occupation of Judea. He paid his taxes to the occupying power but said only, "Let Caesar have what belongs to him, and God have what belongs to him" (Matthew 22:21). He was the original proponent of a separation of church and state.
Those who want the state to engage in public worship, or even to have prayer in schools, are defying his injunction: "When you pray, be not like the pretenders, who prefer to pray in the synagogues and in the public square, in the sight of others. In truth I tell you, that is all the profit they will have. But you, when you pray, go into your inner chamber and, locking the door, pray there in hiding to your Father, and your Father who sees you in hiding will reward you" (Matthew 6:5-6). He shocked people by his repeated violation of the external holiness code of his time, emphasizing that his religion was an internal matter of the heart.
But doesn't Jesus say to care for the poor? Repeatedly and insistently, but what he says goes far beyond politics and is of a different order. He declares that only one test will determine who will come into his reign: whether one has treated the poor, the hungry, the homeless and the imprisoned as one would Jesus himself. "Whenever you did these things to the lowliest of my brothers, you were doing it to me" (Matthew 25:40). No government can propose that as its program. Theocracy itself never went so far, nor could it.
The state cannot indulge in self-sacrifice. If it is to treat the poor well, it must do so on grounds of justice, appealing to arguments that will convince people who are not followers of Jesus or of any other religion. The norms of justice will fall short of the demands of love that Jesus imposes. A Christian may adopt just political measures from his or her own motive of love, but that is not the argument that will define justice for state purposes.
To claim that the state's burden of justice, which falls short of the supreme test Jesus imposes, is actually what he wills — that would be to substitute some lesser and false religion for what Jesus brought from the Father. Of course, Christians who do not meet the lower standard of state justice to the poor will, a fortiori, fail to pass the higher test.
The Romans did not believe Jesus when he said he had no political ambitions. That is why the soldiers mocked him as a failed king, giving him a robe and scepter and bowing in fake obedience (John 19:1-3). Those who today say that they are creating or following a "Christian politics" continue the work of those soldiers, disregarding the words of Jesus that his reign is not of this order.
Some people want to display and honor the Ten Commandments as a political commitment enjoined by the religion of Jesus. That very act is a violation of the First and Second Commandments. By erecting a false religion — imposing a reign of Jesus in this order — they are worshiping a false god. They commit idolatry. They also take the Lord's name in vain.
Some may think that removing Jesus from politics would mean removing morality from politics. They think we would all be better off if we took up the slogan "What would Jesus do?"
That is not a question his disciples ask in the Gospels. They never knew what Jesus was going to do next. He could round on Peter and call him "Satan." He could refuse to receive his mother when she asked to see him. He might tell his followers that they are unworthy of him if they do not hate their mother and their father. He might kill pigs by the hundreds. He might whip people out of church precincts.
The Jesus of the Gospels is not a great ethical teacher like Socrates, our leading humanitarian. He is an apocalyptic figure who steps outside the boundaries of normal morality to signal that the Father's judgment is breaking into history. His miracles were not acts of charity but eschatological signs — accepting the unclean, promising heavenly rewards, making last things first.
He is more a higher Nietzsche, beyond good and evil, than a higher Socrates. No politician is going to tell the lustful that they must pluck out their right eye. We cannot do what Jesus would do because we are not divine.
It was blasphemous to say, as the deputy under secretary of defense, Lt. Gen. William Boykin, repeatedly did, that God made George Bush president in 2000, when a majority of Americans did not vote for him. It would not remove the blasphemy for Democrats to imply that God wants Bush not to be president. Jesus should not be recruited as a campaign aide. To trivialize the mystery of Jesus is not to serve the Gospels.
The Gospels are scary, dark and demanding. It is not surprising that people want to tame them, dilute them, make them into generic encouragements to be loving and peaceful and fair. If that is all they are, then we may as well make Socrates our redeemer.
It is true that the tamed Gospels can be put to humanitarian purposes, and religious institutions have long done this, in defiance of what Jesus said in the Gospels.
Jesus was the victim of every institutional authority in his life and death. He said: "Do not be called Rabbi, since you have only one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, the one in heaven. And do not be called leaders, since you have only one leader, the Messiah" (Matthew 23:8-10).
If Democrats want to fight Republicans for the support of an institutional Jesus, they will have to give up the person who said those words. They will have to turn away from what Flannery O'Connor described as "the bleeding stinking mad shadow of Jesus" and "a wild ragged figure" who flits "from tree to tree in the back" of the mind.
He was never that thing that all politicians wish to be esteemed — respectable. At various times in the Gospels, Jesus is called a devil, the devil's agent, irreligious, unclean, a mocker of Jewish law, a drunkard, a glutton, a promoter of immorality.
The institutional Jesus of the Republicans has no similarity to the Gospel figure. Neither will any institutional Jesus of the Democrats.
Garry Wills is professor emeritus of history at Northwestern University and the author, most recently, of "What Jesus Meant."
Posted 4/11/2006 at 1:10 PM

Monday April 10, 2006
full!
Posted 4/10/2006 at 4:28 PM

Sunday April 9, 2006
i really love this show. it freaks me out!
made string beans dish tonight: get a bunch of string (or green) beans, snap off the ends, drop them in a pot of boiling water with salt for about 2 minutes, drain, then sautee it with chopped garlic & olive oil for like 2 min, then let it sit. VOILA!
Posted 4/9/2006 at 9:57 PM

Saturday April 8, 2006

this past couple of weeks, for some reason, i've had strangers come up to me (literally, seeking me out from wherever they were standing, etc.) to ask for directions. didn't matter that it was in the subway, getting out of a cab, waiting for the sidewalk lights, etc. it was pretty weird. usually when i'm listening to music, nobody dares to approach, not even when i'm NOT listening to music! but in all these instances, i WAS listening to music and yet people still approached.
now that this COOL HEADPHONE is a part of my life and it's suppose to "cut out all excessive noise" while listening to music, i do wonder if this will make the difference. i don't MIND people approaching me but just thought that was an interesting thing in my otherwise pretty routine days.
Posted 4/8/2006 at 10:8 AM

Thursday April 6, 2006
Read below: I've been getting more of these lately:
I stick out my arms for shaking
then we shake, but either me or the other person starts to pullllllll for a cheek kiss, while still holding the "shaking" hands.
must be a trend of some sort.

April 6, 2006
Better Not Miss the Buss
By ELIZABETH OLSON
IT can happen to anyone. You want to give more than a businesslike handshake as a greeting, and a hug seems disconcertingly personal. You lean in to bestow the compromise — a peck on the cheek — and the person turns her head, and suddenly you're bumping noses or even brushing lips and teeth.
That's what happened to Margery Colloff, a Manhattan lawyer, when she was introduced to a more senior lawyer at a dinner party.
"I went for a peck on the right cheek, but he was zooming in from the left," she recalled. "And I literally crashed into his teeth."
The social kiss is unpredictable, agreed R. Couri Hay, the society editor at Hamptons magazine.
"I never kiss on the first meeting," he said, "but if someone offers a kiss, I feel I have to be polite and take it. Generally I really don't want to be covered in lipstick." The kiss "has been dumbed down," Mr. Hay said. "It is supposed to be a sign of affection, but I've seen people recoil when they see someone they don't even know coming in to lick their cheek."
Despite the awkwardness, the cheek, or social, kiss is displacing the handshake, once the customary greeting in American social and business circles. It may be a growing Latin influence, an aping of European manners, the influx of women in the workplace or just a breakdown of formality: no one seems to know. It's not just celebrities smacking the air or diplomats puckering up with the European style double kiss or Soprano family wannabees mimicking a sign of forced fealty.
Smooching one or both cheeks can be discombobulating in a society where the impersonal handshake or even the more distant nod is the most familiar greeting. Kiss protocol is so routinely bungled that it was parodied in a short video that the fashion designer Kenneth Cole used in February to unveil his autumn collection. The video shows how a young woman's efforts to bestow the affectation end in repeated disaster.
The awkwardness — and inevitability — of the social kiss has led to strategies to deal with it. "I position my face just slightly to the side," said Jeff Elsass, a Pilates instructor at the BioFitness Center in Manhattan, who is frequently greeted with kisses during his workday, "then I wait and see what the other person is going to do. That slight turn of the head can take you past the lip and the cheek."
If being bussed on the cheek is way too intimate, some advise that sticking your hand out firmly — keeping a straight elbow — is the best way to show yourself willing to shake hands and nothing more.
That's what Mr. Hay did at a nightclub opening in February, then added his own follow-through.
"A woman was coming in for the kiss, so I took a step back and then put my hand out in front of me," he said. "I turned left and kept going in one continuous movement, like a dance step, to escape."
While the handshake still holds sway in big corporations, said Barbara Pachter, who heads an etiquette-training firm in New Jersey, the kiss has migrated into areas like sales, where it can denote a warm relationship that encourages buying. Still, figuring out where the limits are can present problems, she noted.
"I had one pharmaceutical saleswoman client — young and attractive — who would kiss and hug her clients," Ms. Pachter said. "Then she saw one doctor at dinner and gave him a kiss and hug. His wife didn't appreciate that, and it was not appropriate."
The kiss is "happening more and more," agreed Peggy Post, a spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute founded by the doyenne of etiquette. "We're much more informal in everything from the clothes we wear to how we greet people."
Ms. Post advocates the handshake and agrees that it's better "to steer clear of kissing people of the opposite sex, which can be misconstrued in some cases." This is especially true on first meetings. Later, kissing as a greeting depends on the relationship, she and others said.
At one time the handshake had to be initiated by a woman before the man would extend his hand, Ms. Post noted. That's long past since most women in the work force don't hesitate to extend their hand in greeting.
But the social kiss is often initiated by men who are higher ranking. For example, at a ceremony in January, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg planted a double kiss on Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of New York State.
"The more powerful person is the one who determines the amount of physical space," said Ann E. Fuehrer, a professor of psychology and women's studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. "They are taking the initiative to determine the degree of proximity."
Sarah Felix, 27, a features editor at Good Housekeeping, remembered a cheek-and-lip collision with a former boss, which she found unsettling because, she said, "there is always a certain amount of tension in that gesture between an older man and a younger woman."
P. M. Forni, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, who wrote "Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct" (St. Martin's, 2002), said, "You can use the kiss to overpower a person." But, Professor Forni said, "in an age when there are all these prohibitions on physical contact, such as putting an arm around someone's shoulder, we are looking for a way of physical contact that is beyond reproach."
He added: "The social kiss is a gentle reminder that we are physical beings. It is face-to-face encounters that make us human."
In Mediterranean countries, he said, "there is less of a stigma when it comes to touching," but American men are still tentative. While President Bush bestowed kisses on Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings when they were appointed to his cabinet, his public goodbye last week to Andrew H. Card Jr., his longtime chief of staff, consisted of very brief backslapping.
"Social kisses can be a nonverbal signal that you are embraced and respected," observed Pamela S. Eyring, the director of the Protocol School of Washington. "Still, they should be reserved for friends."
Some believe that cheek kissing simply codifies welcoming behavior. "Cheek kisses are customs of politeness, not more," said Polly Platt, the director of Cultural Crossings in Paris, a training service for corporate managers.
The double kiss is frequently used in the diplomatic world, which has adopted the two-cheek European version as a compromise between the kissier (three or four times) approach used by some Continentals and the tepid one-kiss welcome.
Donald B. Ensenat, the United States chief of protocol, said he greets women with the double kiss but men with a handshake, a pat on the back or an embrace, depending on their relationship.
"I'm from New Orleans," Mr. Ensenat said. "I was used to one kiss. It's a Southern thing to give a cheek peck, so it wasn't hard to get used to two kisses."
The social kiss may have roots going back to Roman times, some academics believe. Its popularity has waxed and waned. In the early decades of the 20th century, it was mostly seen among the aristocracy and spread gradually after World War II, gathering speed as the traditional handshake was deemed stodgy.
Even so, confusion often reigns because there is no set formula for social kissing. The French, for example, kiss on both cheeks — one kiss each — although in a few regions it is the double-double kiss with two on each cheek. The Belgians, the Dutch and even the dour Swiss go for the triple kiss. If you can't keep that straight and need a refresher, the lip balm company Blistex has a rundown of kissing customs on its website, http://www.blistex.com/, under the heading Global Lip Customs.
In most countries the social kiss begins with the right cheek, probably because most people are right-handed and, according to a German study in 2003, most people tilt their heads to the right when heading for a lip kiss. So it follows that they would lean right for a cheek kiss.
National customs are reflected in the diplomatic world, but that does not mean it is easy to learn them, Madeleine K. Albright, the former secretary of state, wrote in her 2003 memoir, "Madam Secretary." While she typically got a single peck on the cheek from foreign ministers, she wrote, "in Latin America the maneuver was complicated by the fact that in some countries they kiss on the left and in some on the right."
She added, "I could never remember which, so there were a lot of bumped noses."
She took it in stride, but others who accidentally encounter noses, lips and cheeks less often find it more unsettling.
Ms. Colloff, for example, said that after knocking into the other lawyer, "I was so embarrassed that I pretended throughout dinner that it had not happened.
"And he, a perfect gentleman, did the same."
Posted 4/6/2006 at 8:58 AM

Wednesday April 5, 2006
i went to a redeemer sg last night, just to try it out. we went over chapter 5 of book of mark with the outline from redeemer's own study guide book. i don't want to say it was interesting because that just doesn't really describe much. i'll say this: there are lots of different people out there, trying to grow, trying to support, trying ______etc. it's very encouraging. and you realize how you're such the ONLY fish in your ONLY pond! as much as it was enjoyable and the discussions though, i think i'll try out a couple others. since i can't seem to find a church for my growth, i'll try the reverse way: find a SG to grow, then apply church to my growth, instead of the other way around.
on a completely different note, the other day, a fellow "artistic officer" (that's my nice way of saying "i'm-an-artist-but-work-for-artists-in-artistic-environment") from salzburg came to the office for a meeting. i talked to him a bit and since then i've been wanting to go visit salzburg! now, now, it's not because i want to chase after this man: it's that he works for the salzburg festival and i realized, if i were to visit salzburg this summer, i could get free tickets...those awesome tickets...for free! and enjoy mozart 360-degrees, smothered with mozart, etc. i wish! I WISH! but i can't. even though i have enough frequent flier miles, i'll need lodging and i don't want to just go there, eat at my place and then that's it. i want to do all things, go visit vienna, the capital of composers, attend operas & concerts, do all things mozart mozart mozart and that means lots of money spending, which i don't have!
envy really is a terrible thing. but as i've mentioned to some of you, i'll have to forego anything that i can obtain later: a grand piano, a trip to austria and germany (i need to go to lubeck & dresden & leipzig to experience bach & schumann!!!!), etc...it's not like it'll kill me if i don't go this year i guess...
Posted 4/5/2006 at 8:50 AM

Tuesday April 4, 2006

Mozart Wasn't Poor, Just a Big Spender
By William J. Kole
Associated PressApril 4, 2006
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- For centuries, historians have portrayed Mozart as poor, but new documents suggest the composer was not nearly as hard-up for cash as many have believed.Scholars who combed through Austrian archives for an exhibition opening Tuesday on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's later years in Vienna found evidence that he was solidly upper-crust and lived the good life.Letters show that Mozart repeatedly borrowed money from friends to pay for his travels and his social obligations, and that his family was forced to move at least 11 times. The new documents, on display at Vienna's Musikverein, reveal that he earned about 10,000 florins a year -- at least $42,000, in today's terms.That would have placed him in the top 5 percent of wage-earners in late 18th-century Vienna, say experts, who were unable to prove lingering suspicions that gambling debts took a big bite out of Mozart's earnings.''Mozart made a lot of money,'' said Otto Biba, director of Vienna's vast musical archives.To put his earnings in perspective: Successful professionals lived comfortably on 450 florins a year, according to Biba, who said Mozart's main occupation in Vienna was teaching piano to aristocrats -- a lucrative job that helped support his extravagant lifestyle.Yet Mozart earned a reputation for money-grubbing, and evidence abounds that he squandered much of his cash. Among the items on display at the Musikverein are handwritten letters in which Mozart begged his patrons, publishers and acquaintances for huge sums to settle his debts.One penned in June 1788 requesting a loan from arts patron Michael Puchberg reads: ''If you will do me this kindness ... I shall be able to work with an easier mind and a lighter heart.''The exhibition, which runs through June 30, is part of a year of special events in Austria celebrating the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth in Salzburg on Jan. 27, 1756.Mozart lived in Vienna from 1784-87, at the height of his brief but prolific music career. Among the works he composed in the Austrian capital was ''The Marriage of Figaro.''Mozart, who died in 1791 at age 35, was buried in a pauper's grave at Vienna's St. Marx Cemetery, perpetuating the notion that he spent most of his life barely scraping by in dire financial straits.A simple column and a sad-looking angel mark the spot where scholars believe he was laid to rest.No one disputes that Mozart's wealth was long gone by the time he lay on his deathbed.Researchers at Salzburg's International Mozarteum Foundation say records of Mozart's estate indicate that his widow barely had enough cash to bury him, and that he owed thousands, including debts to his tailor, cobbler and pharmacist.American composer and music historian Allen Krantz is among those who think that Mozart may simply have been a victim of his own generosity, impulsiveness and largesse.''Mozart grew up to be undisciplined, unworldly and a soft touch. Money went through his hands like water,'' Krantz wrote in a recent biography. ''Even Mozart's mother, a gentle soul, complained: 'When Wolfgang makes new acquaintances, he immediately wants to give his life and property to them.'''www.mozart2006.net/eng/index.htmlhttp://www.mozarteum.at
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press

Posted 4/4/2006 at 10:35 AM
Tuesday April 4, 2006
On Wednesday this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 a.m., the time and date will be:
01:02:03 04/05/06.
The consecutive time & date numbers beginning with 01 will never happen again in our lifetime maybe anyone's ever.
Posted 4/4/2006 at 10:13 AM

Monday April 3, 2006

Moviegoers get taste of 'Simpsons' film
Movie starring Homer & Co. due in summer 2007
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- America's favorite animated Average Joe is on the big screen, if only for a moment.
A 25-second teaser clip of the upcoming "The Simpsons Movie" is being shown to audiences for 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: The Meltdown," which opened Friday. (The film topped the weekend box office.)
The clip features a deep-voiced announcer booming "Leaping his way onto the silver screen, the greatest hero in American history!" as a large S appears on the screen. It then cuts to Homer Simpson sitting on his couch in his underwear.
When Homer hears the narrator say the movie will open July 27, 2007, he says, "Uh, uh, we better get started."
The same clip was expected to have aired during "The Simpsons" television show Sunday night, the Hollywood Reporter said.
The long-running Fox animated series announced last week that it will unveil a live-action opening sequence Sunday. Lookalike actors will play the roles of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, Al Jean, the show's executive producer, said in a statement.
"The Simpsons" was recently renewed for two more seasons, its 18th and 19th.
Posted 4/3/2006 at 1:6 PM

Sunday April 2, 2006

April 2, 2006
Directions
What's the Korean Word for 'Yo'?
By ROBERT SIMONSON
How do you say "surprizzle" in Korean?
That was just one of the questions facing the librettist Kevin Del Aguila and the translator Chunhwi Park after a South Korean producer decided to bring "Altar Boyz," his Off Broadway musical spoof about a fictitious Christian boy band, to Seoul.
Any time a show ships off to another country, changes must be made to accommodate cultural differences, and "Altar Boyz" was no exception. Some fixes were simple. The concert where the squeaky-clean band tries to rid the audience of sin through "Miracle Funk" will take place in Seoul, not New York.
Other elements needed no translation. Mr. Del Aguila didn't have to tell Mr. Park what a boy band was. Kim Tae-woo, who plays the group's leader in the Seoul production, which opens April 12, was a member of the now-defunct Korean boy band known — by coincidence — as g.o.d. (actually an acronym for Groove OverDose). He has been described as "the Justin Timberlake of Korea."
But some alterations were tricky. Though the band members' message is holy, their vocabulary is rife with hip-hop jargon (or, at least, five white guys' approximations of same). Trying to explain contemporary American lingo, Mr. Del Aguila said, he suddenly realized that "everything I know about Korean culture basically came from watching episodes of 'M*A*S*H.' "
For Mr. Park, the problem was part cultural and part linguistic. Though he's translating "Sweeney Todd" now, Mr. Park said "Altar Boyz" was the most difficult script he had ever tackled. "There were so many hidden double meanings," he said.
In addition to comedy, "I always have the most difficult time doing lyrics," he said. "They are just painful from start to finish, because the structure of the sentence and length of syllables and the accents are different."
Their tale of cultural disconnect can be read in excerpts from e-mail messages Mr. Park shared.
Page 14: "That's what I'm talkin' about, G!" What is G?
Page 14: "Little surprizzle later in the shizzle!" This obviously means surprise in the show, but could you explain a little more?
Page 15: "For real, dawg!" "Dawg" means dog, but why is Abe calling Juan a dog? I don't understand.
Page 26: "Mary on the Q.T." I don't understand this line. I am not that religious. Sorry.
Page 39: "Lemme axe you." Let me ask you? Or axe? Chop you with an axe?
Mr. Del Aguila's response: "Axe" is the way that rappers sometimes incorrectly pronounce the word "ask." Luke is not trying to chop the audience up.')
Posted 4/2/2006 at 9:36 AM

Saturday April 1, 2006

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You gave it your best shot, but things don't always turn out how you expected. This is because you either:
Fell for our April Fool’s joke, in which case ha ha, wasn't that amusing and harmless and mostly in good taste and not all psychologically damaging under various and sundry aspects of contemporary tort law, please don't sue us; or
Are genuinely enjoying, or least momentarily tolerating, our April Fool’s joke and wanted to surf your way into its every last nook and cranny, in which case
...ha ha, wasn't that amusing and harmless and mostly in good taste and not all psychologically damaging under various and sundry aspects of contemporary tort law, please don't sue us.
Posted 4/1/2006 at 11:3 AM

Friday March 31, 2006

March 31, 2006
In Operators' Voices, Echoes of Calls for Help
By JIM DWYER
The city released partial recordings today of about 130 telephone calls made to 911 after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, stripped of the voices of the people inside the World Trade Center but still evocative of their invisible struggles for life.
Only the 911 operators and fire department dispatchers can be heard on the recordings, their words mapping the calamity in rough, faint echoes of the men and women in the towers who had called them for help.
They describe crowded islands of fleeting survival, on floors far from the crash and even on those that were directly hit: Hallways are blocked on 104. Send help to 84. It is hard to breathe on 97.
Be calm, the operators implore. God is there. Sit tight.
The recordings, contained on 11 compact discs, also document a broken link in the chain of emergency communications.
The voices captured on those discs track the callers as they are passed by telephone from one agency to another, moving through a confederacy of municipal fiefdoms — police, fire, ambulance — but almost never receiving vital instructions to get out of the buildings.
No more than 2 of the 130 callers were told to leave, the tapes reveal, even though unequivocal orders to evacuate the trade center had been given by fire chiefs and police commanders moments after the first plane struck. The city had no procedure for field commanders to share information with the 911 system, a flaw identified by the 9/11 Commission that city officials say has since been fixed.
The tapes show that many callers were not told to leave, but to stay put, the standard advice for high-rise fires. In the north tower, all three of the building's stairways were destroyed at the 92nd floor. But in the south tower, where one stairway remained passable, the recordings include references to perhaps a few hundred people huddled in offices, unaware of the order to leave.
The calls released today bring to life the fatal frustration and confusion experienced by one unidentified man in the complex's south tower, who called at 9:08 a.m., shortly after the second plane struck the building. For the next 11 minutes, as his call was bounced from police operators to fire dispatchers and back again, the 911 system vindicated its reputation as a rickety, dangerous contraption, one that the administration of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani tried to overhaul with little success, and one that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hopes to improve by spending close to $1 billion.
The voice of the man, who was calling from the offices of Keefe Bruyette on the 88th floor of that building, was removed from the recording by the city. From the operator's responses, it appears that he wanted to leave.
"You cannot — you have to wait until somebody comes there," she tells the man.
The police operator urged him to put wet towels or rags under the door, and said she would connect him to the Fire Department.
As she tried to transfer his call, the phone rang and rang — 15 times, before the police operator gave up and tried a fire department dispatch office in another borough. Eventually, a dispatcher picked up, and he asked the man to repeat the same information that he had provided moments earlier to the police operator. (The police and fire departments had separate computer dispatching systems that were unable to share basic information like the location of an emergency.)
After that, the fire dispatcher hung up, and the man on the 88th floor apparently persisted in asking the police operator — who had stayed on the line — about leaving.
"But I can't tell you to do that, sir," the operator said, who then decided to transfer his call back to the Fire Department. "Let me connect you again. O.K.? Because I really do not want to tell you to do that. I can't tell you to move."
A fire dispatcher picked up and asked — for the third time in the call — for the location of the man on the 88th floor. The dispatcher's instructions were relayed by the police operator.
"O.K.," she said. "I need you to stay in the office. Don't go into the hallway. They're coming upstairs. They are coming. They're trying to get upstairs to you."
Like many other operators that morning, she was invoking advice from a policy known as "defend in place" — meaning that only people just at or above a fire should move, an approach that had long been enshrined in skyscrapers in New York and elsewhere.
At Keefe Bruyette, 67 people died, many of whom had gathered in conference rooms and offices on the 88th and 89th floors. Some tried to reach the roof, a futile trek that the 9/11 Commission said might have been avoided if the city's 911 operators had known that the police had ruled out helicopter rescues — another piece of information that had not been shared with them — and that an evacuation order had been issued.
The calls were released today in response to a Freedom of Information request made by The New York Times on Jan. 25, 2002, for public records concerning the events of Sept. 11. The city refused to release most of them on the grounds that they were needed to prosecute a man accused of complicity in the attacks, or contained opinions that were not subject to disclosure, or were so intensely personal that their release would be an invasion of privacy. The Times sued in state court, and nine family members of people killed in the attacks joined the case.
Judge Richard Braun of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled in early 2003 that the vast majority of the records were public, but said that the city could remove the words of the 911 callers on privacy grounds. Over the next two years, the core of his ruling was affirmed by the appellate division and the New York State Court of Appeals.
That led to the release of the calls today. City officials said that 130 calls were made to 911 from inside the buildings. Of that group, officials were able to identify 27 people and notified their next of kin this week that they could listen to the complete call.
While that might seem like a small number of calls given that approximately 15,000 people were at the trade center that morning, officials said that many of those who got through to 911 were with large groups of people.
One of these groups was on the 105th floor of the south tower, a spot where scores of people had congregated after trying to reach the roof. Among them was Kevin Cosgrove, who worked on the 100th floor, and who had told his family that he had gone down stairs before turning back. He called 911, and said he was in an office overlooking the World Financial Center, across West Street, records show. He said he needed help, and was having difficulty breathing.
One of the recordings — city officials have refused to say who made the call — involved a man on the 105th floor who suggested desperate measures to improve the air.
"Oh, my God," said the dispatcher. "You can't breathe at all?"
The caller's words were deleted.
"O.K.," said the dispatcher. "Listen, when you — listen, please do not break the window. When you break the window — " here, the caller interrupted.
"Don't break the window because there's so much smoke outside," the dispatcher said. "If you break a window, you guys won't be able to breathe; . O.K.? So if there are any other doorways that you can open where you don't see the smoke."
The dispatcher tried to soothe the man, finally saying, "O.K. Listen, calm yourself down. We've got everybody outside. O.K.?"
The man spoke and the dispatcher assured him help was on the way.
"We are," the dispatcher said. "We're trying to get up there, sir. Like you said, the stairs are collapsed. O.K.? Everybody wet the towels and lie on the floor. O.K.? Put the wet towels over your head and lie down; O.K.? I know it's hard to breathe. I know it is."
People on the highest floors in both towers suffered acutely from the smoke and heat, even though they were many floors distant from the entry points of the planes that had crashed into the buildings. In the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald in the north tower, between 25 and 50 people found refuge in a conference room on the 104th floor. One man, Andrew Rosenblum, reached his wife in Long Island, and gave her the names and home phone numbers of colleagues who were with him. As he recited the information, she relayed it to neighbors. Mr. Rosenblum also called a friend and said that the group had used computer terminals to smash windows for fresh air.
Such drastic actions appeared to have been discouraged by the operator. Another Cantor Fitzgerald employee on the 104th floor was Richard Caggiano, who called 911 at 8:53, seven minutes after the plane hit the north tower.
"Don't do that, sir," the operator said. "Don't do that. There's help on the way, sir. Hold on."
Mr. Caggiano's words, which were not made public, prompted a question from the operator.
"Are y'all in a particular room?" she asked. "How many?"
She listened, then said, "25 or 30 in a back room. O.K. They're on the way. They're already there. You can't hear the sirens?"
Just before the south tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., a spurt of calls reached the 911 operators. One of these was from Shimmy Biegeleisen, who worked for Fiduciary Trust in the south tower on computer systems. He was on the 97th floor where, by chance, an emergency drill had been scheduled for that day. Mr. Biegeleisen called his home in Brooklyn, spoke with his wife and prayed with a friend, Jack Edelman, who remembered hearing him say: "Of David. A Psalm. The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world and those that live in it."
At 9:52, he called 911. The building had seven more minutes before it would collapse. Mr. Biegeleisen would spend those minutes telling first the police operator, then the fire dispatcher, that he was on the 97th floor with six people, that the smoke had gotten heavy.
The police operator tried to encourage Mr. Biegeleisen.
"Heavy smoke. O.K. Sir, please try to keep calm. We'll send somebody up there immediately. Hold on. Stay on the line. I'm contacting E.M.S. Hold on. I'm connecting you to the ambulance service now."
As his call was transferred to the ambulance service, once again, the information about the smoke and the 97th floor was sought and delivered.
"Sir, any smoke over there?" asked the ambulance dispatcher. "O.K. the best thing to do is to keep — keep down on the ground. All right? O.K.?"
The ambulance dispatcher hung up, but the original operator stayed on the line with Mr. Biegeleisen. She could be heard speaking briefly with someone else in the room, and then turned her attention back to him
"We'll disengage. O.K.?" the operator asked. "There were notifications made. We made the notifications. If there's any further, you let us know. You can call back."
Seconds later, the building collapsed.
Posted 3/31/2006 at 12:56 PM

Friday March 31, 2006
Bloomberg: Illegal Immigrants Should get Permanent Status
NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States should get permanent status.The Republican mayor also said guest worker programs and mass deportations aren't practical solutions.In an interview with CNN broadcast Thursday, Bloomberg, who oversees a city with an enormous immigrant population, said he's frustrated with the debate on immigration currently gripping Washington, D.C., because it's removed from the reality he faces as a mayor."I wonder what world they live in,'' Bloomberg said of Capitol Hill politicians. "You're not going to deport 12 million people, so let's stop this fiction. Let's give them permanent status.''He acknowledged that solution "may very well be rewarding lawbreaking.''"But let's get real,'' he said. "I mean, you know, we don't live in a perfect world.''The mayor said guest worker programs and other temporary solutions wouldn't work because people wouldn't leave after their time runs out."Are you going to leave after six years? Come on, guys,'' he said, adding that such solutions are just ways of postponing problems.
Posted 3/31/2006 at 9:49 AM

Thursday March 30, 2006
women - including myself - check out themselves while walking next to store windows. we check out our shoes, the pants length, skirt length, how the hair looks from the side ways, how the bag looks, etc.
we've got to stop. because this is the truth: whether we look good SIDEWAYS, that doesn't really hold true for what really "counts" (to us and to the opposite sex): front & back views.
when was the last time you ladies saw your backside, not twisting from front TOWARDS back, but really, a full frontal- and back view?
it's not pretty, let me tell you. it's time for reality.
i know. i suck with this dose of reality. like cold shower.
Posted 3/30/2006 at 10:52 AM

Tuesday March 28, 2006
heard the Chausson Concert for Piano, Violin and String Quartet in D major, Op. 21 yesterday. WOW, what a sucky piece. No wonder nobody ever plays Chausson anymore. WOW! SO SUCKY!!!
outta 4 surprised (wow, this sucks) music grading!
Posted 3/28/2006 at 11:48 AM

Monday March 27, 2006
now i'm done with church hopping. i've attended 5 different churches and it's time to narrow them down. unfortunately, i don't feel any pull to any particular one. i know which ones i don't want to attend, but i'm not sure about which ones to attend...bleh bleh bleh~~~
i think i'll try one more church next sunday and then April will be all about the new church. it's hard to find THAT combination of great fellowship, great sermons and just feeling of clicking. i think it's harder, actually, because there ARE so many choices.
either that, or i'm just hard to fit in...
Posted 3/27/2006 at 9:59 AM

Saturday March 25, 2006
wow, what a screwed up movie. one thing for sure: I HATED THE MUSIC!!!
outta 4 angry taxi drivers.
Posted 3/25/2006 at 6:53 PM

Thursday March 23, 2006
Dick Cheney and George W. Bush were having breakfast at the White House.
The attractive waitress asks Cheney what he would like, and he replies, "I'd like a bowl of oatmeal and some fruit."
"And what can I get for you, Mr. President?"
George W. replies with his trademark wink and slight grin, "How about a quickie this morning?"
"Why, Mr. President!" the waitress exclaims "How rude! You're starting to act like Mr. Clinton, and you've only been in your second term of office for a year! ''
As the waitress storms away, Cheney leans over to Bush and whispers...
"It's pronounced 'quiche'."
Posted 3/23/2006 at 3:56 PM

March 22, 2006
Coyote Found Roaming in Central Park Is Captured
By MARIA NEWMAN and JANON FISHER
A coyote roaming through Central Park today got a taste of what it's like to lead the police on a chase in New York City, where the tabloid media and countless other reporters and photographers will chase anything that gives chase.
The coyote, which was first spotted in the park late on Sunday, was finally captured at about 10 this morning near Belvedere Castle, after an officer with the New York City Police Department's Emergency Service Unit shot it in the rear with a tranquilizer dart.
A 35-pound male that had been dubbed "Hal" by some police officers and reporters because it was first spotted near the Hallett Nature Sanctuary in the park's southeast corner, the coyote appeared healthy when it was captured, according to a city veterinarian who examined it. Hal will be taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center in upstate New York, officials said.
During its several-day adventure in Central Park, the coyote has been spotted by many but harmed no one, and it had attracted quite a following from a motley crowd that tailed him him through New York City's otherwise bucolic oasis.
Just before it was caught this morning, the coyote's chasers included not only about a dozen officers dressed in dark blue uniforms and flak jackets armed with tranquilizer rifles, but also park maintenance employees on carts, their rakes sticking idly out of the back as they barked directions into walkie-talkies.
There were also countless reporters and photographers sprinting after the coyote as it made its way through the paths, meadows, ponds and wooded areas of the park, and a few curiosity seekers among people visiting the park.
There were even news helicopters hovering above the park, broadcasting the hapless coyote's every move to viewers around the country.
Police officials had warned people that the biggest danger the coyote posed was to pets. Adrian Benepe, the city's parks commissioner, first caught a glimpse of the animal on Tuesday, in the Hallett sanctuary.
After it was captured, Mr. Benepe told reporters that the coyote may have made its way to Central Park from Westchester County via an Amtrak train bridge over the Harlem River.
"For a coyote to get to Midtown, it has to be a very adventurous coyote," Mr. Benepe said. "It was a very curious kind of coyote."
Even Michael Bloomberg, New York's mayor, felt compelled to comment on the coyote's travails.
During a session with reporters Wednesday morning, he said: "This is New York, and I would suggest the coyote may have more problems than the rest of us."
On Tuesday night, the police managed to shoot the coyote it with a tranquilizer dart. But that didn't stop Hal, who was seen again this morning by a construction worker at a ball field that was being mowed.
Suzanne Kelly, who was working on the wardrobe department of a movie crew filming in the park, said she saw the coyote at about 8 this morning. She said it was near another woman walking her small dog. At first, Ms. Kelly said she thought the coyote was another dog.
"She tried to shoo it away," she said of the dog walker. "I saw it coming toward me. I purposely turned away. I have bad luck with dogs. I thought it would try to bite me."
The coyote, however, did not seem that interested in her, and made his way to another part of the park.
Finally, the police spotted the animal once again at the Hallet sanctuary, an area in the park near 65th street which includes a duck pond and is surrounded by an 8-foot-high fence.
The coyote darted through the wooded areas of the sanctuary, making his way in and out of a rocky area, and finally jumped into the pond.
But before officers could catch up with him, Hal scaled the fence around the sanctuary, and made his way through the park again. At one point his followers saw him go past Wollman Rink, where a woman in a sparkly sweater was serenely executing figure-8s upon the glistening ice, unaware of the commotion around her.
Hal turned north again, and was spotted going past the Boathouse Restaurant. Finally, he made its way past Belvedere Castle, and at about 10 a.m., he became trapped near some air conditioning equipment behind a nearby fire department comunications substation.
At about 10 a.m., Emergency Service officer Phillip Tropp took a shot at him, hitting him in the rear.
"We waited a few minutes for the tranquilizer to take effect," Mr. Tropps said, "then we noosed it and put it in the cage."
The coyote's breathing was shallow and he appeared in a deep sleep.
The last time a coyote was seen in the same section of the park was in April 1999, when one was tracked down, tranquilized and sent to live at the Queens Zoo.
Mr. Benepe had tried to calm any fears people may have had of an animal more common in the rural areas of Westchester County than in the middle of a big city.
"He's probably more frightened of you than you are of him," Mr. Benepe said.
Posted 3/22/2006 at 3:38 PM

Tuesday March 21, 2006
lately, i've been going to bed very late. i am so sleepy around my "bed time," (that being 10 PM) so i sluggishly move around my apt, then somehow i end up on the couch. 11 pm comes around, and then i realized "sex and the city" is now on ch.11 as reruns. mind you, i've only watched 1 episode of SATC and i wasn't so impressed with it while it ran on hbo.
i will say this and probably offend all of SJP's loves out there: i don't understand why they would praise such a show. so far, i've watched about 3 episodes and it's all about...okay, sex and things about the city, that has to do with sex. but its heroine - carrie - is a messed up woman and i don't think she's such a great character. flawed and realistic, perhaps and maybe in that the public admires the show. i agree that realistic portraits of people are what touches and moves us, yet her METHOD of coping, like having flings, then crawling back and apologizing and then "hurting" because her bf isn't forgiving of her quickly enough, etc. and that's what we should identify with...that we should EMPATHIZE WITH our heroine...COME ON! JEEZ LOUISE!!
i was, however, entertained by her friends.
Posted 3/21/2006 at 7:15 PM

Sunday March 19, 2006
okay, so i'm back...mostly because
a) i'm a cheapo: in order to create my own website, i need to PAY to host the site, etc. if i had that $10 a month, i'd rather (re)start Netflix!
b) i miss a place where i can paste a link and nobody tells me to:
"stop sending these things to me!"
"huh??"
"hey..."
so...welcome back...SEE PEA!!!!! HA HA HAAAAA (<---- that's actually # c), as i missed laughing at myself too.)
Posted 3/19/2006 at 9:47 PM