Samantha Gentry's Blog

Valentine's Day—The Good And The Bad

2012-02-12T06:49:00.000-06:00

The Good:

Valentine's Day is that time of the year when cards, flowers, candy, jewelry, and other tokens of affection are given to loved ones in the name of St. Valentine. But who is St. Valentine and why do we celebrate his holiday every year?

One legend says Valentine was a priest in the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II decided single men made better soldiers so he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. Claudius ordered him put to death.

Another story has Valentine killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were beaten and tortured.

And yet another story says Valentine was the one who sent the first 'Valentine Greeting' while he was in prison. He fell in love with a young girl, possibly the jailor's daughter, who visited him while he was imprisoned. Before his death, he wrote her a letter and signed it 'From your Valentine,' an expression that has transcended time to continue as a common expression for the holiday.

St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, is a combination of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. One theory says we celebrate Valentine's Day in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial which probably occurred around 270A.D., while others believe that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'Christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday, surpassed only by the exchange of Christmas cards. Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia in addition to the United States.

The Bad:

The St. Valentine's Day massacre—the most spectacular gangland slaying in mob history.

Al Capone ('known' to be the mastermind, but never charged for the crime) had arranged for his chief rival, Chicago mobster George "Bugs" Moran and most of his North Side Gang, to be eliminated on February 14, 1929. The plan was simple and deviously clever, yet Capone's primary target escaped any injury. Capone distanced himself from the execution of the plan (and the execution of his rivals) by spending the time at his home in Florida.

A bootlegger loyal to Capone was to draw Moran and his gang to a warehouse to receive a shipment of smuggled whiskey, the delivery set for 10:30AM on Valentine's Day.

The morning of February 14 was cold and snowy. A group of Moran's men waited for Bugs at the red brick warehouse at 2122 North Clark Street. Moran was running late. When his car turned the corner onto Clark Street, he spotted a police wagon pulling up to the warehouse. Assuming it was a raid, he watched as five men, three of them dressed in police uniforms, entered the building. Moran and the two men with him, immediately left the area.

Inside the warehouse, Moran's men were confronted by the hit men disguised as police. Assuming it was a routine bust, they followed instructions when ordered to line up against the wall. The hit men opened fire with Thompson submachine guns, killing six of the seven men immediately. The seventh man, with twenty-two bullet wounds, survived the attack but died after arriving at the hospital.

The newspapers instantly picked up on the crime, dubbing it the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre." The story appeared on front pages around the country, making Capone a national celebrity. But to his dismay, this new found celebrity also brought a new level of attention from federal law enforcement culminating in his conviction for tax evasion and incarceration at Alcatraz.

Chocolate—The Food Of Love

2012-02-04T16:17:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, the day the chocolate industry happily counts its profits. Certainly other items also come to mind such as cards, flowers, and jewelry. But chocolate reigns supreme for the holiday.

The history of chocolate goes back over two thousand years. Cocoa has long been associated with passion, romance, and love. It's a concept that goes back to the Aztecs with archaeological records indicating that the Mayans were consuming cocoa as long ago as 600 B.C., possibly even earlier than that.

The Aztecs believed it was a source of spiritual wisdom, energy, and sexual power. It was widely served at wedding ceremonies. The ancient civilizations of Central and South America did not know chocolate as we do today. They consumed cocoa as a drink, its naturally bitter taste possibly altered by adding chili peppers to the water and cocoa.

When the Spanish explorers first brought cocoa home with them in 1585, they experimented by mixing it with sugar and vanilla to make a sweeter tasting drink. The result was a type of hot chocolate popular among the upper classes who were the only ones who could afford it. Cocoa was also added to baked goods to give them added flavor. By the first half of the eighteenth century cocoa production had increased and the price fallen so that it became affordable to the general population of Europe and also the European colonies in the New World.

By the nineteenth century things were moving along nicely for those involved in the manufacture of chocolate. In 1828, Conrad van Houton of Holland invented a process to make a refined cocoa powder which increased the output of the usable powder from a given crop of cocoa beans which further lowered the price.

The first chocolate candies as we know them today were invented in the 1860s by Cadbury, a British candy maker, who was also the first to sell them in a heart-shaped box for Valentine's Day.

Another big advance came in 1878 when a Swiss chocolate seller, Daniel Peter, invented a process for making candy out of milk chocolate—a process picked up by Nestle. In 1913 Jules Sechaud, a Swiss chocolate maker, created the first chocolate candy with cream and other fillings and the modern soft centered chocolate candies were born.

And thus chocolate candies joined the ranks of flowers and jewelry in the courtship ritual.

Chocolate, including chocolate candy, is liked by most people, but women tend to have a somewhat greater affinity for it than men. Chocolate is more than food. It not only fills your stomach, it also makes you feel good. Many people believe that chocolate is an aphrodisiac. While it is true that chocolate does contain organic substances which have a physical feel good affect on the body, the amounts are not that great.

Critics claim the benefits of eating chocolate are small compared to the sugar and fat contained in a chocolate bar. However, the best chocolate—dark chocolate with high cocoa butter content rather than milk chocolate—has no added fat with a high percentage of cocoa solids and correspondingly less sugar. Chocolate will never be considered a health food based on its nutritional value, but it is still good for you. It's good for your heart, relieves stress, and makes you feel good. What more could you want?

Chocolate has long been associated with passion, romance, and love. This association goes all the way back to the Aztecs. Valentine's Day is a celebration of romance. Chocolate is both an everyday pleasure and a token of love. Valentine's Day and chocolate make a perfect match. Men have long known in dealing with women that chocolate is always a safe gift. Chocolate is given as a token of love and is equally viable as a peace offering when he has done something to anger his love.

Chocolate—the all purpose taste treat that's good any time of the year.

Men Who Are Irresistible To Women—How Do They Rate As Potential Mates?

2012-01-29T06:28:00.001-06:00

As a writer of various forms of romance, I can take the type of man who is intriguing, interesting, exciting, even dangerous—the quintessential bad boy or flashy guy or brooding loner among several choices—and by the end of the book love has tamed the aspects of his personality that would make him a lousy choice as a mate. He has seen the light and realizes his life is not complete without the heroine, a realization that allows him to change and make an honest commitment to relationship.

But that's one of the joys of fiction. We can create accurate characters for specific personality types and situations, but have the availability of writing that hero the way we want him to be rather than portraying the reality for that type. We can create that growth and resolve the inner conflict so the hero can change over the course of the book.

But what about real life? How about those personality types that are seemingly irresistible to women? How do they stack up for a viable long term committed relationship?

The Flashy Guy
We've all seen the type—the hot new sports car, a Rolex watch. Women are naturally attracted, finding this type of man more desirable on the surface than the guy who drives a four year old economy car. But does that attraction equate to a healthy relationship? According to researchers, not really. According to their findings, while women are interested in dating this type of man they are not interested in settling down with them. The women surveyed said that men who were flashy spenders were only interested in no-strings-attached sex rather than a relationship. However, experts say it could be a sign that the man is suffering from low self-esteem and feels that a show of possessions could lure a potential mate. Bottom line: find out what's behind the flashy exterior before determining yea or nay to the possibility of a true relationship.

The Bad Boy
Through out history, bad boys have been attractive to women. The sense of danger and thrills that surrounds the bad boy pulls women into the high-energy excitement. But after a while, the newness wears off and you're left with a guy who possesses such traits as narcissism and callousness along with a high number of sex partners. Not very good qualities for a committed relationship. If his core personality is not that attractive or desirable, you should leave.

The Moody Dude
Canadian researchers did a study on why women go for the brooding type. Using photographs to determine the sexual attractiveness of the opposite sex, they found that men were attracted to smiling happy-looking women but women generally found the most attractive men to be the ones who appeared moody, proud, or powerful. Psychologists say these are usually women who don't believe they deserve a good person, especially women whose fathers were emotionally distant during childhood. They try to heal old wounds by seeking out relationships with similar type men hoping things will be different for them. Unfortunately, they usually aren't.

The Less Attractive Guy
For a healthy relationship, should a woman pass on the eye-candy and go for the less attractive man instead? Researchers from UCLA and the University of Tennessee found that women who are more attractive than their husbands have happier marriages. Research showed that in those cases, the man was generally more emotionally supportive of his wife. When the man was the better looking spouse, he was less supportive.

The Older Man
According to a Swedish study, women prefer to date older men. The study showed that the majority of women were seeking wealthy, accomplished, older partners. It also noted that older meant experienced, which could be sexy…on average the guy was wiser and richer. However, an American psychologist said she doubted the study could be applied to the American culture. It was possible, but unclear as to how it would apply.

The Class Clown
Many women find a good sense of humor to be a very desirable quality in a man. Why do women find humor attractive? A British study suggested that women believe men with a good sense of humor are more intelligent, therefore better providers. It has been suggested that humor has a positive effect on women's health because it helps de-escalate conflict, creating happy and healthy relationships.

These types make for good fiction, but how do you think they fare in real life?

10 Wacky Driving Laws

2012-01-22T06:52:00.000-06:00

A while back I did a blog about weird laws…the type that should have been taken off the books decades ago. This time I'm looking at wacky driving laws.

Basic driving laws are the same everywhere. Green lights mean go and red lights mean stop. Pedestrians in crosswalks have the right of way. You aren't allowed to drive faster than the posted speed limit. That's pretty straight forward and simple.

However, individual states have some peculiar driving laws of their own that don't make any sense. Perhaps there was a valid reason for them at the time the law was passed, but in today's society they're totally out of sync with reality.

Here are a selection of 10 such laws, in no particular order.

In Arkansas it's illegal to blast your car horn after 9pm where ice cold beverages or sandwiches are being served.

In Dublin, Georgia, it is illegal to drive through playgrounds.

In Connecticut and Tennessee hunting from cars is illegal, unless it's whale hunting. It does make you wonder just where in Connecticut and Tennessee you would go to hunt whales. Aquariums probably frown on the activity.

In Illinois all cars must be driven with the steering wheel. Hmm…I wonder how many other options are available.

In Almosa, Colorado, it's illegal to throw missiles at cars. It really makes you wonder what would have prompted that type of legislation.

In San Francisco it's illegal to wipe your car with used underwear. It's probably not best to dwell on that one.

In Florida if an elephant is tied to a parking meter, you must put money into the meter same as if you were parking your car. My guess is that this law is a hold over from the days when Ringling Brothers circus had their winter headquarters is Sarasota, Florida. I can't think of another reason for someone having an elephant tied to a parking meter. :)

In Alabama it is illegal for a person to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle. How strange…no blindfold driving allowed. What's next...needing to be licensed in order to drive a car?

In Tennessee it's illegal to drive while sleeping, but no mention of a blindfold. :) If for some reason you end up driving a car while asleep, my guess is getting a ticket for breaking that particular law will be the least of your worries.

And finally…

In Hilton Head, South Carolina it is illegal to store trash in your car. However, it seems to me that you shouldn't need a law for that.

Any weird driving laws where you live?

11 FAILED DOOMSDAY PREDICTIONS

2012-01-15T06:28:00.002-06:00

On January 10, 2012, the Doomsday Clock was moved forward. The Clock (a symbol of imminent apocalypse since 1947) now stands at five minutes until midnight.

With the winter solstice of 2012 less than a year away and some people putting forth the theory that the Mayan calendar shows Friday, December 21, 2012, as the end of the world, I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the failed doomsday predictions that were proclaimed to be absolute in their accuracy at the time.

Doomsday predictions have been around for many centuries. In fact, it would probably be more accurate to say millenniums. No sooner has one prophecy come and gone without the earth coming to an apocalyptic ending than another one pops up to take its place.

Needless to say, so far none of these prophecies have come to fruition. Regardless of the dire predictions and the credentials of the doomsday prophet, the world is still here.

The Prophet Hen Of Leeds, 1806
For the last two thousand years many of the doomsday predictions have been associated with the imminent return of Jesus. One of the strangest is a hen in the English town of Leeds. In 1806 the hen began laying eggs that had "Christ is coming" written on the shell. Many people believed the miracle and claimed the end was at hand—until a curious neighbor watched the hen laying eggs and discovered that the entire thing was a hoax.

The Millerites, April 23, 1843
William Miller, a New England farmer, came to the conclusion that the date God had chosen to destroy the world could be determined by a strict and literal interpretation of scripture. He eventually had thousands of followers known as Millerites who decided the actual date for the end of the world was April 23, 1843. When the date arrived and nothing happened, the group disbanded.

Mormon Armageddon, 1891 or earlier
At a meeting of his church leaders in February 1835, Joseph Smith announced he had spoken with God and learned Jesus would return within the next 56 years and immediately afterward the End Times would begin.

Halley's Comet, 1910
In 1881, an astronomer discovered that comet tails include a deadly gas called cyanogen. This was of no particular interest until someone realized that Earth would pass through the tail of Halley's comet in 1910 which would subject everyone on the planet to the deadly gas.

Pat Robertson, 1982
Televangelist and founder of the Christian Coalition, Pat Robertson, informed his 700 Club television audience that he knew when the world would end. He guaranteed that by the end of 1982 there would be a judgment on the world.

Heaven's Gate, 1997
In 1997 with the appearance of comet Hale-Bopp, rumors circulated that an alien spacecraft was following the comet and NASA was covering up this fact. A San Diego UFO cult, Heaven's Gate, concluded that this meant the world would end soon. On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the cult committed suicide.

Y2K, January 1, 2000
With the turn of the millennium, rumors were flying fast and furious that the world's computers would fail and what they controlled would cease to function because the computers wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the year 1900 and 2000. Catastrophic problems were predicted. However, the new millennium began with only a few minor glitches.

May 5, 2000
And just in case the Y2K bug didn't finish us off on January 1st, the year 2000 had another shot at it. A 1997 book titled 5/5/2000 Ice: the Ultimate Disaster assured us that specific date when the planets would be aligned in the heavens and would result in a global icy death. Guess they forgot about global warming. :)

Nostradamus, July 1999
The writings of Nostradamus have intrigued people for over 400 years. However, the accuracy of his predictions depends on a very flexible interpretation. One of his quatrains said,

The year 1999, seventh month

From the sky will come great king of terror

Many believed this was Nostradamus' vision of Armageddon.

God's Church Ministry, Fall 2008
Ronald Weinland, minister of God's Church, said in his 2006 book that hundreds of millions of people will die and by the end of 2006 there will be a maximum of only two years remaining before the world will be plunged into the worst time in all human history.

And most recently…

Harold Camping, 2011
On his radio program, Harold Camping proclaimed that Judgment Day would be May 21, 2011, and would begin with global earthquakes and a rapture of the faithful. This would be followed by months of catastrophe and the world would end of October 21, 2011. And again, we're still here.

So now we wait for December 21, 2012…

Friday the 13th —Does it make you stop and think?

2012-01-08T07:34:00.000-06:00

Triskaidekaphobia: Fear of the number thirteen.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th.

An obviously irrational concept that a mere number can bring bad luck to someone. Or that a specific day of the week can be unlucky. But that doesn't stop us from dwelling on the possibility.

And the 13th of January falls on Friday...and that's this week!

The tradition of Friday being a day of bad luck dates back centuries with some of the more common theories linking it to significant events in Christian tradition believed to have taken place on Friday such as the Crucifixion, Eve offering Adam the apple in the Garden of Eden, the beginning of the great flood.

Many sources for the superstition surrounding the number thirteen and its association with bad luck also derive from Christianity with the Last Supper being cited as the origin. Judas was the thirteenth person to be seated at the table.

And when you put the two bad luck symbols together you get Friday the 13th…the day associated with misfortune.

Superstition is a belief or notion not based on reason or knowledge. An irrational belief. Lots of superstitions came into being during the Dark Ages, a time when living conditions were so severe that people reached out to anything that might bring them help and solace with the results being explanations for what seemed unexplainable at the time. Religious beliefs and lack of scientific knowledge helped to spawn many superstitions.

Superstitions differ from culture to culture, but we all have them even if it's only paying surface homage to the concept. We don't believe in the good luck vs. bad luck of chain letters, yet it often comes down to saying what's the harm, then sending the letter on to avoid breaking the chain.

We often follow the tradition of the superstition without really knowing why it's the traditional thing to do. If we blow out all the candles on our birthday cake with one breath while making a silent wish, then the wish will come true. When expressing a desire for good luck (we'll be able to go on the picnic if it doesn't rain), we grin, then we knock on wood as we emit an embarrassed chuckle.

In Western folklore, many superstitions are associated with bad luck. In addition to Friday the 13th there's walking under a ladder, having a black cat cross your path, spilling salt, stepping on a crack, and breaking a mirror among others.

In addition to cultural superstitions, there's also certain occupations that evoke various rituals to bring on good luck. It seems to me that gamblers and sports figures have the most superstitions and rituals to insure good luck.

Do you have any superstitions that you hold dear? Are they more of a traditional situation handed down through your family or are they superstitions that have come down through the ages?

I'd like to hear about them.

And I'm sure there won't be any unpleasantries or bizarre accidents this Friday (knock on wood).

9 Hangover Remedies -- Do They Really Work?

2012-01-01T06:46:00.000-06:00

New Year's Eve has just come and gone. And synonymous with New Year's Eve is the traditional celebration—the New Year's Eve PARTY.

And from the party comes the inevitable next morning hangover for many of those party-goers.

It seems that everyone has a sure fire remedy for the dreaded hangover. Let's take a look at 9 popular home remedies and what the experts say about their viability.

1) Increase Water Intake
It's generally known that alcohol dehydrates the body so it's only logical to assume that drinking lots of water will help rehydrate the body thus easing that hangover. It's not a complete cure but it will help the bloodstream and circulatory system carry nutrients and oxygen to tissue and remove waste from a night of drinking.

2) Nibbling Toast With Honey
Evidence suggests that any high-carb, high-sugar snack might provide some immediate energy, but beware…it's only a temporary boost, not a cure.

3) Guzzling Sports Drinks
The extra electrolytes found in sports drinks such as Gatorade can give them an edge over plain water to treat a hangover by leading to quicker rehydration of the body.

4) Loading Up On Vitamins And Minerals
Vitamin C and magnesium can help the body break down alcohol and eliminate it from the body, making them a viable hangover remedy. A good source is magnesium citrate power which can be taken with hot or cold water.

5) Drinking Coffee
This is a popular way of initially easing the pain of a hangover, but it's only temporary and is limited in its effects. Caffeine is dehydrating, same as alcohol. It might wake you up, but can potentially make the situation worse.

6) Have Some "Hair Of The Dog"
Waking up and having another alcoholic drink may be a sort of feel-good cure, but it's very temporary. The traditional college approach to ease the pain doesn't help. Drinking more alcohol only continues to disrupt blood chemistry and hydration.

7) Eating Greasy Food
A greasy breakfast, one high in carbohydrates and fat content, can give your body a short term boost. But, for the long term it's not a good idea.

8) Working Out
Of all the possible and popular hangover cures, the experts say this one works the best. It improves circulation and pumps up your mood-boosting hormones. The biggest problem with this is forcing yourself do it.

9) Sex
There isn't any scientific data to support engaging in sex as a hangover cure. But there's no harm in trying. :)

New Year's Resolutions You'll Be Able To Keep

2011-12-26T08:48:00.000-06:00

New Year's resolutions have basically become an annual joke. Every January 1 we make resolutions for the upcoming year and if we're lucky, they remain valid for the rest of the month.

So, this year how about making some resolutions you'll actually be able to keep during 2012? Here's a list of several such resolutions. I hope you accept these suggestions in the spirit of humor in which they are offered. If I've offended anyone, I apologize in advance.

1. Gain Weight. Let's face it, you already have a start on this one with all the holiday meals, candy, beverages, and snacks.

2. Go Deeper Into Debt. You probably have a head start on this one, too, from holiday gift shopping. After all, even buying new things for yourself…well, it was probably stuff you needed and with all the great sales this year who could resist?

3. Spend More Money. This goes hand-in-hand with the second item on the list. Spend it now while you're still physically able to get out to do it.

4. Don't Get A Better Job. Since having any job is better than not having one, be happy with status quo.

5. Whatever Shape You're In Is Fine. Seriously…round is a perfectly acceptable shape.

6. Don't Go Back To School. Look at your current life and time schedule. Now add a part time college schedule to that plus the cost of tuition (probably the same amount as that new 72-inch LED HDTV home theater with Dolby Surround Sound you bought in item two on the list) plus the cost of expensive college textbooks. Hmmm…a fine bottle of rare vintage wine or a bottle of aged single malt scotch vs. Concepts of Economics Vol. 1.

7. Drink More Alcohol. Open that fine bottle of wine or scotch and watch your new HDTV.

8. Smoke Like A Chimney. When someone chastises you for putting second hand smoke out there, ask them if they've traded in their gas-guzzling car for a bicycle.

9. Stay At Home. If, however, you prefer to find toilet paper that's hard enough to scrape paint, really weird television programs, and even weirder food…then travel out of the country.

And last but not least…

10. Don't Volunteer!

And now for something completely different (with apologies to Monty Python for stealing…uh, I mean borrowing…their catch phrase).

As a follow up to Christmas, a few words about that much maligned holiday treat, the butt of so many jokes, that humble yet seemingly inedible concoction—fruitcake.

Food historians theorize that fruitcake (any cake in which dried fruits and nuts try to coexist with cake batter) is older than Moses. Ancient Egyptians entombed fruitcake and Romans carried it into battle, probably for the same reason. Fruitcake was built to last and it did, well into medieval times.

It was in the 18th century that fruitcake achieved totemic status. At that time nut-harvesting farmers encased fruits and nuts in a cakelike substance to save for the next harvest as a sort of good luck charm.

And thus the problem. Any cake that is not meant to be eaten doesn't deserve to be classified as food.

Our love/hate relationship with fruitcake began in the early 20th century when the first mail-order fruitcakes became fashionable gifts. It ended up as a mass-produced product using barely recognizable fruits and packed into cans as heavy as barbell weights.

And another something different…

While celebrating the arrival of the New Year, there's one thing you should keep in mind—the darker the liquor, the bigger the hangover. According to a new study that compares the after effects of drinking bourbon vs. vodka, what sounds like an old wives' tale is true…to a point.

Brownish colored spirits such as whiskey and rum contain greater amounts of congeners than clear liquors such as vodka and gin. And what are congeners, you might ask? They are substances that occur naturally or are added to alcohol during the production and aging process, many of which are toxic. They contribute to the alcohol's color, odor, and taste. They also interfere with cell function, and I'm NOT talking about your mobile phone. :) And they viciously punish your head and tummy the next morning. According to the study, bourbon is aged in oak barrels and has thirty-seven times as many congeners as vodka, which is heavily filtered to remove impurities.

Drinking in the study was relatively moderate compared to some New Year's Eve binges. The average blood-alcohol content of the survey participants was 0.1 percent, somewhere between 0.09 ("mildly intoxicated" and considered legally over the limit in most states), and 0.15 ("visibly drunk" and definitely on your way to jail). The study's findings may not translate to your holiday party.

The bottom line, however, is that congeners are not the primary culprit in the dreaded hangover. The credit goes to the alcohol itself.

Wishing everyone a happy AND SAFE New Year's Eve and a marvelous New Year. May 2012 bring you happiness and health.

And Peace On Earth for everyone.

The Legend of St. Nicholas

2011-12-18T06:31:00.004-06:00

Who is that man in red? The man who, every Christmas Eve, brazenly breaks into people's homes, helps himself to cookies and milk, and leaves things behind resulting in a mess of wrapping paper and ribbon for others to clean up the next morning. Reindeer and a heavily laden sleigh can't be good for the roof. Soot from a chimney tracked all over the floor…something else left behind for others to clean.

Yet every year we anxiously anticipate his arrival, track his progress through the skies, and welcome him into our homes.

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas' popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

Sinter Klaas Comes to New York

St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.

The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace. In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York. As his prominence grew, Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a rascal with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a huge pair of Flemish trunk hose.

Shopping Mall Santas

Gift-giving, mainly centered around children, has been an important part of the Christmas celebration since the holiday's rejuvenation in the early 19th century. Stores began to advertise Christmas shopping in 1820, and by the 1840s, newspapers were creating separate sections for holiday advertisements, which often featured images of the newly-popular Santa Claus. In 1841, thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model. It was only a matter of time before stores began to attract children, and their parents, with the lure of a peek at a live Santa Claus. In the early 1890s, the Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families. They began dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations. Those familiar Salvation Army Santas have been ringing bells on the street corners of American cities ever since.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas poem for his three daughters entitled An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas. Moore's poem, which he was initially hesitant to publish due to the frivolous nature of its subject, is largely responsible for our modern image of Santa Claus as a right jolly old elf with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head. Although some of Moore's imagery was probably borrowed from other sources, his poem helped popularize the now familiar image of a Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve in a miniature sleigh led by eight flying reindeer leaving presents for deserving children. An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas created a new and immediately popular American icon. In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the first likeness that matches our modern image of Santa Claus. His cartoon, which appeared in Harper's Weekly, depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children. It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves, and his wife, Mrs. Claus.

A Santa by Any Other Name

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning Christ child, Christkind is an angel-like figure often accompanied by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman named Babouschka purposely gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find the men to undo the damage. To this day, on January 5, Babouschka visits Russian children leaving gifts at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

The Ninth Reindeer

Rudolph, the most famous reindeer of all, was born over a hundred years after his eight flying counterparts. The red-nosed wonder was the creation of Robert L. May, a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store.

In 1939, May wrote a Christmas-themed story-poem to help bring holiday traffic into his store. Using a similar rhyme pattern to Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, May told the story of Rudolph, a young reindeer who was teased by the other deer because of his large, glowing, red nose. But, When Christmas Eve turned foggy and Santa worried that he wouldn't be able to deliver gifts that night, the former outcast saved Christmas by leading the sleigh by the light of his red nose. Rudolph's message—that given the opportunity, a liability can be turned into an asset—proved popular. Montgomery Ward sold almost two and a half million copies of the story in 1939. When it was reissued in 1946, the book sold over three and half million copies. Several years later, one of May's friends, Johnny Marks, wrote a short song based on Rudolph's story (1949). It was recorded by Gene Autry and sold over two million copies. Since then, the story has been translated into 25 languages and been made into a television movie, narrated by Burl Ives, which has charmed audiences since 1964.

***

And speaking of Santa and Christmas gifts…I have an erotic romance Christmas short story titled A Gift From St. Nicholas by Samantha Gentry, available as part of the HEARTS 'N' HOLLY anthology from XOXO Publishing (www.xoxopublishing.com), also from Amazon as a Kindle ebook (www.amazon.com) and other online ebook stores.

Adult Excerpt #1:

She turned out all the lights except for those adorning the Christmas tree. A soft glow filled the room. The same warmth permeated her body, sending a tingle of anticipation coursing through her veins. She went straight to the bedroom, undressed, and snuggled beneath the blankets.

It seemed as if only a few minutes had passed when a sound roused her from sleep. She slipped quietly out of bed, pulled the sheer red negligee over her nearly nude body, and walked down the hall toward the living room. One quick peek confirmed what had awakened her...the popping of the champagne cork.

For decades Santa had been portrayed as a rotund, grandfatherly type with a long white beard, but the Santa holding the champagne bottle and wearing the traditional Santa cap definitely was not anyone's grandfather. The lights on the Christmas tree lit the corner of the room. She watched as he touched a match to the kindling in the fireplace. The flickering illumination highlighted the hard planes of his bare chest. An impressive bulge at the crotch of his tight red pants grabbed her attention, causing her heart to beat faster and her pulse to race.

Adult Excerpt #2:

"I'm so glad you finally gave up on the cookies and milk."

"I found champagne to be so much more exciting." She took a sip from her glass. The bubbles tickled the inside of her mouth. The sensation left her wanting something else to tickle the inside of her mouth, something more sensual...something more desirable.

"Have you been a good girl this year?" There was no mistaking the suggestive tone to Santa's voice.

"I always try to be a good girl."

"I do have a list, and I checked it twice."

"What does it say about me?"

His eyes twinkled with amusement, the look quickly shifting to desire. "According to my list, you've repeatedly been very good."

***

Check in next week (Monday, December 26) for a list of New Year's resolutions that you won't have any difficulty keeping and a discussion about that much maligned holiday treat—fruitcake.

10 Signs That The New Man In Your Life Might Be Married

2011-12-11T07:01:00.001-06:00

First of all, I'm not stating that only married men cheat and not married women. Married women certainly engage in extra-marital affairs, too. Sometimes the cheater is having an affair with someone who is also married and sometimes the partner is single.

Unofficial surveys have shown that men seem to enjoy no-strings-attached affairs more than women and single men aren't nearly as offended as single women to discover that their new lover is married.

I came across an article a while back listing 10 signs indicating that a woman's new romance could be a married man. My first thought was to use it as backstory information for one of my characters who had a past affair with a man and didn't know he was married. Then I decided to share the information with you, too.

10) When with you, he pays for everything in cash.
In today's electronically controlled society, most people don't carry that much cash with them. If he pays for everything…restaurants, hotels, etc., in cash it could be his way of keeping his wife from finding a paper trail such as credit card receipts.

9) He can only spend time with you during a specified window after he gets off work.
If he continually places restrictions on when and where the two of you can be together, then he could be married (or dating someone else while dating you). No wife and no other girlfriends? Then no need to constantly be rushing home by 10PM because he has an early morning meeting. This also applies to never being able to see him on holidays.

8) He works as a traveling salesman, or a similar type job.
It's very easy for a married man working in a job that requires him to travel to have one or more girlfriends in different towns. It could take an unsuspecting woman quite a while to discover the man she has fallen in love with is really married.

7) He never invites you to his home.
There are two primary reasons for this: either his lives like a slob so that his residence looks like a garbage dump or he's married.

6) He won't answer his cell phone in front of you.
Taking calls while on a date is generally considered rude, but for him to never take a call while with you could be one more indication that he's married.

5) When you call his cell phone, you always get his voice mail then he returns your call.
As with number six above, this could be another indication that he's married.

4) He never introduces you to his children, friends or family.
Two main possibilities here. Either he just isn't very serious about you or he's married.

3) He says he's filed for divorce, but you can't find any record of the filing anywhere in the state.
This quite often happens after she becomes suspicious about his marital status and confront him. That's when he admits he's still technically married, but he and his wife are separated and he's filed for divorce but the two of you need to be careful until the divorce is final.

2) His wife calls you.
After getting over the shock of discovering your new romance is really married, explain to her that you did not know you had been seeing a married man, then call him and let him know you won't be seeing him again and why. There's always the remote possibility that she is his ex-wife and he no longer has any association with her but she's not ready to let go of the former relationship…but not likely.

1) You come home and find his clothes dumped on your porch.
This one should be self-explanatory.

Several years ago I used situation #2 in a book, with the storyline having hero's ex-wife confront the heroine pretending to be his wife in an attempt to get him back even though they had been divorced for ten years.

7 Myths About Marie Antoinette

2011-12-04T07:28:00.000-06:00

So many truths have been attributed to Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France who was beheaded during the French Revolution along with her husband King Louis XVI. Perhaps it's time to set those myths to rest by revealing the real truth.

It's generally accepted that history is written by the winner which means the loser usually gets the short end of the stick. And it seems that's what happened to Marie Antoninette who was held responsible for the French Revolution…something that wasn't true.

1) The first and most famous myth is quoting her as saying, "Let them eat cake."

We can start with correcting the quote. The actual phrase was "Let them eat brioche" and was most likely spoken by the Spanish born Queen of Louis XIV. Marie Antoinette was actually considered very generous to the starving people of France.

2) The next myth said Marie Antoinette was a blond.

She has been portrayed in movies and in books as being blond, but in reality she was a redhead, or more accurately a strawberry blond. Madame du Barry, her great enemy at court, nicknamed her la petite rousse—the little redhead.

3) The next great myth says Maria Antoinette was French.

Again, not true. She was the youngest daughter (15th of 16 children) of the Empress of Austria. Her marriage at age 14 to the 15 year old grandson of Louis XV of France united the houses of Bourbon and Hapsburg—definitely a political marriage intended to end nearly 950 years of hostilities between the two countries. As a foreigner in France, she was blamed for all of France's misfortunes.

4) Marie Antoinette's obsession with fashion and interior design bankrupted France.

Starting approximately 1786 she was wrongly nicknames Madame Deficit even though her indulgence in fashion and interior design was not responsible for bankrupting France or causing the French Revolution. France's treasury was broke long before she arrived on the scene. Part of France's extensive debt came from France funding the American colonists during the American Revolution. Of course, that wasn't so much France striking a blow for freedom as it was France striking a blow against England.

5) Myth has it that Marie Antoinette milked her own cows.

Marie Antoinette commissioned a little peasant village to be build on the grounds at Versailles. The village consisted of a working farm and dairy with cottages for a dozen impoverished farmers and their families, an example of her concern for the poor. She did treat her visitors to fresh milk poured from porcelain jugs with her monogram, but was not the one to procure the milk from its source.

6) Myth says Marie Antoinette was promiscuous.

Even though untold numbers of stories circulated about her being wildly promiscuous with lovers of both sexes, they simply weren't true. She remained a virgin for the first seven years of her marriage, having wed at age 14 on May 16, 1770, and not consumating the marriage until August 22, 1777.

7) And finally, it was believed that Marie Antoinette was the power behind the throne, therefore responsible for Louis' decisions.

She was not Louis XVI's puppet master. Her mother, the Empress of Austria, despaired of her daughter's inability to control her husband. Marie Antoinette freely admitted that she lacked any talent for politics and confided that her husband wouldn't permit her to have any input in his government. She did manage to pressure him into making certain ministerial appointments, but that was the limit of her influence.

The Infamous Black Friday Shopping Day

2011-11-27T06:55:00.000-06:00

What in the world has happened to our sacred Black Friday shopping day? To the tradition that signaled the beginning of the Christmas season?

Thanksgiving has come and gone and so has the infamous Black Friday shopping day—the day THEY say marks the moment retailers have covered their expenses for the balance of the year and are operating totally in the black. Or at least that's what it originally meant…in days gone by.

Since Thanksgiving is always on Thursday, for the majority of people living in the U.S. that equates to a four day holiday weekend. In the past, the long holiday weekend has marked the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, commencing Friday morning. It also signaled the time to drag out the holiday decorations, gift wrapping paper, and turn our thinking to the jolly ho-ho-ho mode.

But it seems that everything is different now. Somewhere along the line it has become an almost bizarre ritual bordering on an event type of display.

Rather than stores opening a couple of hours earlier than normal as it used to be, each year for the last few years they are opening earlier and earlier. People waiting in line outside for hours in the cold so they could be the first ones to rush inside the moment the doors were unlocked at 3:00AM. Television news crews would do live reports from some of the larger stores showing hundreds of people with their lawn chairs, sleeping bags, and some even had tents. Earlier in the evening it's a party type of atmosphere. By the time the store unlocks the doors, it's a lot of very cold and tired people. I suspect they want inside from the cold as much as to make that race to their desired bargain.

This year where I live, the temperatures were much warmer this year than they were last year. However, those warmer temperatures were accompanied by strong winds. If someone didn't have their lawn chair anchored down, it would blow away. Several stores opened their doors at midnight this year. Then there were a couple of them that opened Thanksgiving morning and never closed.

Black Friday sales have now evolved to include shopping on the Thursday Thanksgiving holiday. And you know how that goes…once it happens, it becomes tradition. :)

I think the biggest boost to the concept of Black Friday bargains has been the internet. Shopping via the internet rather than actually getting in the car and driving to the mall has been growing by leaps and bounds. And this year so many internet shopping sites were offering the same Black Friday sale prices as their brick and mortar stores and as their competitors including additional incentives such as free shipping. No standing in line for hours in the cold in the middle of the night. Now those bargains are only a mouse click away. You get a good night's sleep and Black Friday is available for pursuits other than elbowing your way through throngs of holiday shoppers. Personally, I find that a preferable alternative. :)

So, who braved the weather, lost sleep, and jostled your way through crowds to snag those bargain prices this year? And how many of you have now completed your holiday shopping?

And speaking of holiday shopping…how many of you noticed how early all things Christmas were out and on display this year? I encountered Christmas items prominently displayed even before Halloween.

How many of you preferred to stay home, click the mouse, and enjoy all those Thanksgiving dinner leftovers while watching football?

And now I have a confession. I did venture out to a store on Black Friday morning about 7:30AM, but not for holiday shopping. I had to go to the office supply store because I was out of printer ink. There were a few people there, but not many. However, 4 doors north of the office supply store Kohl's had a very full parking lot.

Thanksgiving Facts and Myths…And Those Naughty Pilgrims

2011-11-20T07:08:00.000-06:00

I have some Mayflower myths to share with you, then we'll talk about those naughty and sexy pilgrims!

Myth: The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 and the pilgrims celebrated it every year after that.
Fact: The first feast wasn't repeated, so it wasn't the beginning of a tradition. In fact, it wouldn't have been called Thanksgiving because to the pilgrims a thanksgiving was a religious holiday. That feast in 1621 was a secular celebration and would not have been considered a thanksgiving in their minds.

Myth: The original Thanksgiving feast took place on the fourth Thursday of November.
Fact: The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11 and was a three day celebration based on the English harvest festivals. In 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November, a decision fraught with controversy. The date was approved by Congress in 1941.

Myth: The pilgrims wore only black and white clothing with buckles on their hats, garments, and shoes.
Fact: Buckles did not come into fashion until later in the 17th century. Black and white were commonly worn only on Sunday and formal occasions.

But what about the actions and activities of those naughty pilgrims? How did Hester earn that scarlet A? As with so much in life, there's the façade and then there's the reality. :)

Although not liberal in their thinking or lifestyle, the pilgrims were not as uptight as history would have us believe. They tried to create a strict religious society, but had an understanding and mercy unusual for their time. As time passed, intolerance grew and was reflected in their laws as demonstrated by the notorious Salem witch trials.

Men were not the only offenders in Plymouth colony. The prim women weren't always so pious either. Women were often caught with the evidence of their dalliances: babies. The records of the times are filled with one out-of-wedlock child after another. Babies showing up just a few months after marriage were also evidence of wrong doing. Pre-marital sex was severely punished. Fines were levied even for making passes, for appearing to have a lascivious carriage in public, or partying in mixed company at an unseemly time of night.

Sex outside marriage, even between two unmarried consenting adults, usually meant a whipping and fines. If the woman became pregnant, the man had to either marry her or pay for the child's upbringing. The man was usually placed in the stocks and whipped while the woman was made to watch. Sometimes mercy was granted as in the case of a servant, Jane Powell. Following years of hard servitude, she was destitute and had agreed to having sex in the hopes of marrying the man. Apparently the court found her plea convincing and she went unpunished.

Even though the pilgrims imposed strict punishment for crimes, they also understood human temptations. In 1656, Katheren Aines and William Paule were sentenced for committing adultery. William was whipped and forced to pay the costs of his imprisonment. Katheren was whipped, imprisoned and forced to wear a letter on her shoulder designating her as an adulteress. (Calling Nathaniel Hawthorne!) However, Katheren's husband, Alexander, was also punished. Alexander had left his family for some time and treated her badly during their marriage. The pilgrims viewed him as guilty of "exposing his wife to such temptations." Alexander was required to pay for his wife's imprisonment, and sit in the stocks while William and Katheren were whipped.

This Thanksgiving as you sit down to your turkey dinner, it might be a good idea to take a moment to be thankful that you aren't a pilgrim. :)

Turkey Trivia…Just In Time For Thanksgiving

2011-11-13T06:27:00.000-06:00

It's almost that time of year again…the fourth Thursday in November. In less than 2 weeks we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S. Americans cook approximately 45 million turkeys each year for Thanksgiving. So, in honor of the holiday, here are a dozen known and not so well known bits of trivia about turkeys.

1) All turkeys do not taste the same. The taste has to do with their age. An older male is preferable to a younger male (the younger tom is stringy). And the younger female hens are preferable to the older ones. Hmmm…that older man and younger woman syndrome? :)

2) A turkey less than 16 weeks old is called a fryer and a turkey 5 to 7 months of age is known as a roaster.

3) Turkeys are a type of pheasant and are the only breed of poultry native to the Western Hemisphere.

4) Wild turkeys are able to fly for short durations attaining speeds up to 55mph. Domesticated turkeys raised on farms for food are too fat and meaty to achieve flight.

5) We've all heard that Benjamin Franklin argued in favor of the turkey as the national symbol of America rather than the Bald Eagle.

6) The first turkeys to be domesticated were in Mexico and Central America.

7) The male turkey makes the gobble sound and the female clucks.

8) A mature turkey has about 3,500 feathers, which is a lot of plucking before it can be cooked.

9) The most turkeys produced annually come from Minnesota and North Carolina.

10) The skin that hangs from a turkey's neck is called a wattle. The fleshy growth on the base of the beak is the snood.

11) Each year 90 percent of Americans have turkey for thanksgiving compared to 50 percent on Christmas.

12) The most turkey consumed per capita is not eaten by Americans. Israel holds that honor.

One thing that's marvelous about the Thanksgiving turkey dinner is all the terrific leftovers! Anyone out there having something other than the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving dinner?

Did Butch Cassidy Survive?

2011-11-06T05:59:00.001-06:00

I read an interesting article a couple of months ago, which brought to mind a documentary I saw (I think on the History Channel), about Butch Cassidy and speculation about what really happened to him.

We've seen the Paul Newman-Robert Redford movie, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, where they supposedly die in a shoot out with the Bolivian army in 1908. At the end of the movie, they rush out of the building with guns blazing and are surrounded by soldiers unleashing a barrage of bullets. The scene freezes with them still on their feet and the closing credits roll across the screen. We never actually see them die, but it's alluded to much like the real life story of Butch Cassidy alludes to him having died in South America.

But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, perhaps the story of his death was greatly exaggerated.

For decades rumors have persisted that Butch survived the shoot out, returned to the United States, and lived in quiet anonymity in Washington state under an assumed name for nearly thirty years after his death.

And swirling at the center of the controversy is a 200 page manuscript titled Bandit Invincible: The Story of Butch Cassidy written in 1934 by William T. Phillips, a machinist who died in Spokane, Washington, in 1937. Utah book collector Brent Ashworth and Montana author Larry Pointer believe that the manuscript is not a biography of the famous outlaw, but actually an autobiography and that Phillips was really Butch Cassidy. Ashworth and Pointer insist that the manuscript contains details that only the real Butch Cassidy could have known.

As with all speculative versions of history, there are always detractors to the theory, historians who claim the manuscript is not an accurate portrayal of Cassidy's life…or at least his life that is known.

Everyone basically agrees that Butch Cassidy was born Robert LeRoy Parker in 1866 in Beaver, Utah. He was the oldest of 13 children in a Mormon family and robbed his first bank in 1889 in Telluride, Colorado. He served a year and a half in the Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie followed by most of the next 20 years spent robbing banks and trains with his Wild Bunch gang.

Cassidy historian Dan Buck disagrees with Ashworth's and Pointer's conclusions. Buck suggests that the reason Phillips knew so many details about Butch that others wouldn't have known was because the two men actually knew each other back then.

In 1991 Buck and his wife helped dig up a grave in San Vicente, Bolivia, reputed to contain the remains of Butch and Sundance. DNA testing revealed that the bones did not belong to the two outlaws. However, Buck still insists his research confirms that Butch and Sundance died in that 1908 shoot out in Bolivia.

There are stories about the Sundance Kid living long after his time in South America, but they are outnumbered by the many alleged Butch Cassidy sightings. A brother and sister of Butch Cassidy insisted that he stopped in for a visit at the family ranch in Utah in 1925. Phillips' adopted son believed that his stepfather was the real Butch Cassidy. Since Phillips was cremated following his death in 1937, there's little possibility of being able to obtain any type of a DNA match.

So the mystery continues…

10 Halloween Superstitions

2011-10-30T06:07:00.000-05:00

Superstitions flourish in all countries and all cultures. Some of the origins are so obscured by time that no one knows when, how or why they came into being.

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. They set places at the table and left treats on doorsteps for these friendly spirits. They also lit candles to help their loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Today's Halloween ghosts are usually depicted as scarier, as are our customs and superstitions.

Here's a list of ten superstitions that seem to apply specifically to Halloween.

1) If a candle goes out on its own on Halloween, it is thought a ghost has come to call.

2) A burning candle inside of a Jack-o-lantern on Halloween keeps evil spirits at bay.

3) You invite bad luck into your home if you allow a fire to burn out on Halloween.

4) A person born on Halloween can both see and talk to spirits.

5) Seeing a spider on Halloween could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you.

6) If you hear footsteps behind you on Halloween, don't look back because it could be the dead following.

7) Don't look at your shadow in moonlight on Halloween night. Otherwise, you will die within a short period of time.

8) If a bat flies around a house three times, it is a death omen.

9) Ringing a bell on Halloween will scare evil spirits away.

10) A bat that enters a home may have been let in by a ghost.

Do you have any favorite Halloween superstitions?

American Haunted Hotels

2011-10-23T06:22:00.000-05:00

Are you looking for that Halloween thrill that's real rather than manufactured? A true haunted hotel for a night away from home? We have many haunted hotels and inns from which to choose. Here's a sampling (in no particular order) of 20 spooky destinations to spend the night. Or longer…if you're brave enough.

The Myrtles Plantation—St. Francisville, Louisiana
Built approximately 1796, this former home is considered one of the most haunted homes in the U.S. with one murder and several natural deaths. The Plantation now has 11 guest rooms.

Hotel del Coronado—Coronado, California (San Diego)
Opened in 1888 and a National Historic Landmark since 1977, the Hotel del Coronado is said to be haunted by the ghost of Kate Morgan, who died there. This is one of my favorite hotels and has also been used as a location in many movies and television shows, probably the most well-known being SOME LIKE IT HOT starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe.

Marrero's Guest Mansion—Key West, Florida
Built in 1889 by Francisco Marrero for his bride, the 13 guest room Victorian home is rumored to still be haunted by her ghost.

Stanley Hotel—Estes Park, Colorado
First opened in 1909, this hotel is most famous these days as the inspiration for Stephen King's THE SHINING.

Queen Anne Hotel—San Francisco, California
This B&B in San Francisco's Pacific Heights area is said to be haunted by the spirit of Mary Lake who was the Head Mistress of the school that used to be located there.

Manresa Castle—Port Townsend, Washington
A former 30 room private residence is haunted by 2 ghosts, including a former guest who was stood up by her lover and subsequently jumped to her death from the hotel.

Driskill Hotel—Austin, Texas
Originally built in 1886 for cattle baron Jesse Driskill, the Austin landmark hosts travelers today in addition to the spirit of Jesse Driskill.

The Lemp Mansion—St. Louis, Missouri
This hotel offers paranormal tours complete with appetizers and a drink. Several members of the Lemp family died under various circumstances including more than one suicide.

Hawthorne Hotel—Salem, Massachusetts
The town that was the site of the Salem Witch Trials would certainly lend itself to hauntings and Halloween visitors. Guests of the hotel reported hearing eerie sounds in the stairwells and feeling ill at ease while staying there.

Green Mountain Inn—Stowe, Vermont
Boots Berry died in a fall from the roof. His ghost has been seen standing in room 1840, where he was born.

Buxton Inn—Granville, Ohio
The ghost of Orrin Granger, who built the Buxton Inn, has been seen wandering the halls. The ghost of Bonnie Bounell, a former innkeeper, is said to hang out in room 9.

1866 Crescent Hotel & Spa—Eureka Springs, Arkansas
The deceased who are still residing at the hotel include a stonemason, a cancer patient, a cat and a man in a white suit. A new ghost, a dancer, was spotted recently.

Beverly Hills Inn—Atlanta, Georgia
This property is said to be haunted by the souls of 3 women. An investigation in 2007 recorded voices whispering "Get out."

Hotel Queen Mary—Long Beach, California
With its history as both a luxury liner and during World War II a troop transport ship, the Queen Mary is reportedly haunted by many spirits. One of them is a young girl who broke her neck sliding down one of the ship's banisters. She can be seen today hanging out by the swimming pool.

Gettysburg Hotel—Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Ghosts dance in the ballroom and the ghost of a Union soldier strolls through the halls. The nearby Gettysburg Civil War battle field is considered by many to be the most haunted place in the country.

Congress Plaza Hotel—Chicago, Illinois
Built in 1893 for visitors to the Chicago World's Fair, the hotel is reputedly one of Al Capone's hideouts. Members of a rival gang did a drive by shooting attempt on his life while he was staying there. The hotel is said to be haunted by a young boy, possibly an innocent victim of that shooting.

The Battery Carriage House Inn—Charleston, South Carolina
Many guests have reported seeing the torso of a decapitated confederate soldier floating through the Inn.

1859 Historic National Hotel—Jamestown, California
Located in the Sierra foothills in the heart of the California gold rush country, the hotel is said to be haunted by a woman whose fiancé was shot by a drunk on the hotel premises. She is said to have died of a broken heart while wearing her wedding dress and has been giving hotel guests an uncomfortable feeling ever since.

Burn Brae Mansion—Glen Spy, New York
This former home of the third president of the Singer Sewing Machine company offers ghost tours.

Prospect Hill Bed & Breakfast Inn—Mountain City, Tennessee
The haunting spirit at this Inn apparently has a sweet tooth. The smell of baking cookies wafts through the Inn in the wee hours of the morning.

The Colonial Inn—Concord, Massachusetts
This 24 room Inn was established in 1716. Room 24, located in the oldest part of the Inn, was reportedly used as an emergency hospital during the Revolutionary War and that is where guests have reported odd happenings.

There are, of course, many more reportedly haunted hotels and inns. This is just a sampling. Do you have any haunted hotels in your city?

Horror Movies For The Halloween Season

2011-10-16T07:03:00.001-05:00

A thought struck me the other day. It was not anything earth shattering nor a profound realization, but a thought none-the-less. I haven't seen much in the way of promo on television for the October theatrical horror movie releases typical of the Halloween season. Did Hollywood run out of ideas for this year's tribute to the spooky, macabre, and gruesome?

What happened to the scary horror movies from the past that traded on the atmosphere of fear rather than the visual of spurting blood and flying body parts? The tingling sensation that made the hair stand on the back of our necks and goose bumps on our arms as our imaginations ran amuck. The spooky ground fog that seemed to slither over and around the tombstones, cloaking the cemetery in an eerie silence.

I'm talking about the traditional horror classics like Frankenstein from 1931 with Boris Karloff's brilliant performance as the monster. Also from 1931, Dracula with Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the vampire as both elegant and mesmerizing which left the horror to the imagination of the viewer. Then came 1941's The Wolf Man with Lon Chaney, Jr., as the stricken Larry Talbot.

True to Hollywood tradition, these classic horror movies spawned numerous sequels—Bride of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter. And as long as Hollywood was on a roll, they added to the profit factor by capitalizing on the popularity of the characters by having them co-star in such movies as Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man. Then there were the myriad remakes that came over the ensuing years, some serious attempts and others totally ludicrous. Each one pushed the envelope in its own way in order to hopefully make it better (as in more box office dollars) than its predecessor.

And the award for the most remakes over the years goes to Dracula. Some were serious films and others were more on the ridiculous side with titles such as Dracula's Dog and Dracula's Widow.

With all three of the original movies, the remakes never really captured the essence of the originals…in my humble opinion.

And these certainly aren't the only horror movies that fall into the classic category. This month Turner Classic Movies cable channel is doing their October retrospective of horror movies. This year it's Classic Horror Monday with a total of 32 horror movies and one new offering in their A Night At The Movies series, their 2011 documentary The Horrors Of Stephen King. Their viewing schedule includes the silent classics of 1919's The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari and 1922's Nosferatu, takes us through the 1932 version of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, and culminates with 1968's Night Of The Living Dead.

And that should be enough to satisfy any classic horror movie buff's needs.

Beware Of America's Creepiest Roads!

2011-10-09T05:33:00.000-05:00

They've been called urban legends, ghost stories, creepy encounters. But they all have one thing in common—unexplained happenings on dark roads in the dead of night. If you'll pardon the use of the word dead.

Or maybe it's more appropriate than you realize. :)

Halloween is this month and the perfect time of year to explore these creepy lanes and the unexplained happenings. Here's a sampling of some of these haunted roads.

The San Antonio Ghost Track: If you put your car in neutral on the tracks, the car will move by itself off the tracks. And if you cover the bumper in baby power, you'll find child-sized palm prints. However, be careful if you decide to try it out. There have been reports of bandits waiting in hiding for people to start their paranormal test.

The Georgia Ghost Roads: Travelers late at night along Railroad Bed Road and Old Ghost Road (Robertson Road) see a faint orange light flashing in the distance. As they drive closer to it, a man will appear who is digging a ditch…or perhaps a grave. He turns and walks toward the car, but disappears before he gets there.

Buckout Road in Harrison, NY: The shocking murders committed by Issac Buckhout are believed responsible for the area's many reports of notorious activities such as farms burning, vandalism in a local historic cemetery, and people who claimed to have been attacked by flesh-eating monsters because they parked in front of a specific red house and honked their car horn three times.

Meshack Road in Tompinsville, KY: This is supposedly the original location of the oft repeated story of the young woman in the prom dress who is walking along the road and given a ride by a young man. He gives her his coat to keep warm. The next day he returns to the house where he took her in order to retrieve his coat. The woman living there told him her daughter had died several years ago…on prom night.

Milford Road in Oxford, Ohio: The story of star-crossed lovers. The boy and girl were in love but the girl's father hated the boy. The boy would flash his motorcycle headlight three times and if he saw her porch light flash three times in return he knew it was safe to go there. One night he's killed on the road, but the flashing lights continue to haunt the area.

Mona Lisa Drive in New Orleans: A philanthropist donated a collection of statuary to the city with one stipulation. The statue commissioned to commemorate the death of his only daughter, Mona, be placed in a special location in the park by itself. One night a car chase ended with a car crashing into the statue and shattering it. After that, rumors began to circulate that Mona lurked in the park where the statue had been, haunting innocent and unsuspecting visitors.

Archer Road in Justice, IL: Resurrection Cemetery is the site of a story similar to the Meshack Road haunting. A young man met a pretty blond at a dance. At the end of the evening, he drove her home. When they reached the cemetery, she asked him to stop. She got out of the car, walked toward the gate, and disappeared. He went to the house where she said she lived and the woman told him her daughter had been dead for five years.

Spook Hill in Burkittsville, MD: In addition to the ghostly reputation courtesy of the 1990s horror movie, The Blair Witch Project, an unexplained recurring happening here is similar to the Railroad Crossing in San Antonio. When driving up Spook Hill, if you stop and put the car in neutral it won't roll back downhill. It will continue uphill as if being pushed. The local ghostly tale claims it's Civil War soldiers who think they're pushing one of their cannons up the hill.

Shades of Death Road in Warren Co., NJ: Yes, Shades of Death Road is the real name of the street, but no one is sure exactly how the name came about. Over the decades many murders have happened along this stretch of road, each its own ghastly tale, which certainly explains why so many different ghosts haunt the area.

Do you have any ghostly tales or spooky happenings where you live?

5 Points In Favor Of Live Conversation

2011-10-02T06:58:00.000-05:00

I read an article a few months ago about the importance of what is quickly becoming the lost art of live conversation in this age of electronic communication. How often have you seen a scene on a television show where the only two people in a room are texting each other when they could just as easily be talking? This usually occurs in a comedy, pointing up the absurdity of the situation.

Email and other forms of electronic communication such as texting, Facebook, Twitter, etc., tends to be society's primary mode of communication these days, both personally and professionally.

And, of course, we can add blogging to that list. :)

We tend to deal with difficult or emotional conversations electronically because it's easier—it's non-confrontational. Unfortunately, we often regret it later. It's easy to have conflict arise and get blown out of proportion because those involved failed to engage in live conversation—perhaps a fear of a live connection and poor judgment in using written communication. All the emoticons and acronyms in the world can't adequately convey the subtle nuances in a tone of voice, with facial expressions, body language, or the smallest gesture that can be seen or heard with live conversation.

It often seems easier to be honest and direct in writing because we don't have that live, in-the-moment reaction of the other person. Electronic communication takes less courage than live conversation with a real human being. Avoiding that live conversation allows us to feel safer and lets us say things electronically that we might not otherwise verbalize.

And therein is the trap. Sometimes things are said electronically that would not have otherwise been said because the electronic communication has a feeling of distance to it, something more impersonal, rather than being up close and in person.

The article listed five suggestions for engaging in live conversations more often and ultimately resolving conflicts more successfully.

1) Be clear about your intention.
Before sending your electronic message or leaving a voice mail, ask yourself why you are handling the situation electronically rather than live. If the matter is in any way emotionally charged or about a conflict, check to make sure you aren't sending an electronic message simply to avoid that personal involvement. And make sure you answer your question honestly.

2) Don't send everything you write.
Writing everything out in an unfiltered manner can be liberating especially when dealing with an emotional conflict, however that does not mean that it's a good idea to send it. Save it then read it again later before taking any action with it.

3) Request a call or a meeting.
Before becoming involved in a long drawn out exchange of electronic messages, request a live conversation—face-to-face if possible, or if distance doesn't allow that then on the phone.

4) Speak without judgment or blame.
When you engage in the live conversation over a conflict, focus on reality rather than being right. As soon as we move into the realm of blame, we greatly reduce the possibility of resolution.

5) Get support from others.
When dealing with emotionally charged issues, sometimes it's a good idea to seek out support and advice from others we trust and respect, people who will be honest rather than simply saying what we want to hear.

Electronic communication is going to become more and more commonplace in today's society, but resolving our conflicts can often be done quicker and easier with live conversation.

10 Bits of Historical Trivia or Where Did Those Expressions Come From?

2011-09-25T06:38:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder about those interesting expressions that have been handed down through the centuries? Phrases that we all use without giving any thought to where they came from and their original meaning? Here's a list of ten such expressions a friend emailed to me. Let's take a look at the historical origin of these expressions.

1) God willing and the Creeks don't rise
This expression was originally in reference to the Native American Creek tribe and not a body of water and is attributable to Benjamin Hawkins, a late 18th century politician. While in the south, he was requested by the President to return to Washington. In his response, he wrote, God willing and the Creeks don't rise. Since he capitalized the word Creeks, it was assumed he was referring to the Indian tribe rather than water.

2) It cost an arm and a leg
Since there weren't any cameras in George Washington's day, the only way to portray someone's image was either through sculpture or painting. Some paintings of Washington show him standing behind his desk with one arm behind his back while others show both arms and legs. Prices charged by artists were often calculated according to how many arms and legs were being painted rather than the number of people in the painting. Therefore, if the subject wanted both arms and legs in the painting, they were told, "Okay, but it will cost an arm and a leg."

3) Here comes the big wig
As ludicrous as it sounds today, back then men and women took baths only twice a year (usually May after the cold winter and October after a hot summer). Women covered their hair and men shaved their heads and wore wigs. The wealthy could afford good wigs made of wool. Since the wool wigs couldn't be washed, they would hollow out a loaf of bread and put the wig in the shell, then bake it for half an hour. The heat made the wigs big and fluffy, thus the term big wig. Today we use the expression when someone appears to be powerful and wealthy.

4) Chairman of the Board
Many houses in the late 1700s consisted of a large room with only one chair. A long wide board folded down from the wall and was used for dining. The head of the household always sat in the chair while everyone else sat on the floor while eating. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge and that person was referred to as the chair man. Today in business, we use the expression Chairman of the Board.

5) Crack a smile and other related phrases
One result of the lack of personal hygiene back then was that many men and women developed acne scars by adulthood. Women would spread bee's wax over their faces to smooth out their complexions. If a woman began to stare at another woman's face, she was told to mind your own bee's wax. If a woman smiled, the wax would crack, hence the term crack a smile. And when a woman sat too close to the fire the wax would melt, giving us the expression losing face.

6) Straight laced
Ladies wore corsets which laced up the front. A proper and dignified woman wore a tightly tied corset and was said to be straight laced.

7) Not playing with a full deck
Back in the day, a common form of entertainment was playing cards. When a tax was levied on the cards, it was applicable only to the ace of spades. To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards and ignore the ace of spades. Since most card games require all 52 cards, those people were thought to be stupid because they were not playing with a full deck.

8) Gossip
Long ago, before the creation of mass communication such as phones, radio, and television (and certainly the internet), politicians sent their assistants to local taverns to get feedback from the public and determine which issues people considered important. They were told to go sip some ale and listen to people's conversations. The two words go sip were eventually combined into one word, gossip, when referring to the local opinion.

9) Minding your P's and Q's
In the local taverns, people drank from pint and quart sized containers. One of the bar maid's jobs was to keep track of which customers were drinking from pints and which from quarts, hence the phrase minding your P's and Q's.

And finally an expression that has often been misinterpreted…

10) Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
Back in the day when sailing ships ruled the waves, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons that fired iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a supply of cannon balls near the cannon while at the same time preventing them from rolling around the deck. The best storage method was a square-based pyramid with one ball perched on four balls resting on nine which sat on sixteen providing a supply of thirty cannon balls stacked in a small area next to the cannon. There was a problem, though—how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding out from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a monkey with sixteen round indentations. But again, there was a problem. If the plate was made from iron, the iron cannon balls would quickly rust to it, especially in the damp ocean air. The solution to the rusting problem was to make brass monkeys. But still a problem…brass contracts much more and much quicker than iron when it's chilled. So, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey which means it was literally cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. Not what you were expecting? :)

6 Lusty Gods Of Mythology And Their Sexy Pursuits

2011-09-18T07:03:00.000-05:00

Whether Deity or Demon, the supernatural entities of the ancient world had one thing in common. More often than not, they used their magical skills for the pursuit of sex…lots of it.

In today's world, someone with the powers attributed to the gods and monsters of ancient mythology might use those abilities to banish ignorance, intolerance, and hate to make the world a better place for everyone. But in the ancient world, the rulers of mythology used their special powers for a far more down-to-earth human type pursuit—that of participating in hot sex as often as possible.

Here are six such immortals from the ancient world who seem to be in a perpetual state of heat, always chasing after the pleasures derived from seducing mortals.

6) Zeus: The ancient Greeks didn't have reality television, but they did have the exploits of Zeus, king of the gods, to keep them entertained. Zeus wasn't at all picky. He engaged in sex with goddesses, nymphs and mortals and did whatever it took to get what he wanted. Kinky, freaky, voracious. It all described his sexual appetite. On one occasion he even took on the physical appearance of the husband of a human woman named Alcmene and they had a son named Heracles (Hercules in Roman mythology). But even the king of the gods ended up in trouble on the home front. High up on Mt. Olympus, his wife, Hera, was a woman of earth-shattering powers and didn't hesitate to use them.

5) The Incubus/Succubus: Today wet dreams are easily explained. In medieval times, however, they were believed to be the result of demonic forces. Folklore from centuries ago says there was a demonic creature whose sole purpose was to have sex with people during their sleep. The incubus put a spell on a woman to make her compliant then proceeded to have his way with her. The succubus was the female version of this demon who seduced men in their sleep. Sex with an incubus or succubus was considered dangerous for the mortal, but not always lethal. A one time only encounter said the mortal would most likely survive. But continued encounters with the same mortal were definitely bad for the mortal's health.

4) Odin: King of the Norse gods, Odin only had one eye. He traded the other one for infinite wisdom. And what knowledge did this infinite wisdom impart to him? That hot sex was a lot of fun. One time he found himself really turned on by a female giant named Jord. He refused to allow the fact that his non-giant manhood was dwarfed by her giant body to stand in his way. He figured out a physical means for them to have sex. Nine months later Thor was born.

3) Krishna: The Hindu god Krishna wasn't only about hot sex and good times. When his good-for-nothing uncle, Kamsa, crossed that hypothetical line in the sand one too many times, Krishna put him six feet under the sand without giving it a second thought. Krishna loved to get freaky with the ladies. He had a flute and when he played it women would flock to him.

2) Pan: The Greek god, Pan, had a goat-like appearance. He would have fit in perfectly with one of today's college frat houses—he was all about partying. He liked to drink and was cursed (or blessed, depending on how you look at it) with an intense sex drive. He often ran around with his bare erection visible for all to see. Like Krishna, he used his magic flute to draw in the ladies. He seduced Selene, the moon goddess, and convinced her that having sex with him was a great idea.

1) The Meek-Moos-Ak: The Native American tribe known as the Abenaki believed in these short twin creatures called the Meek-moos-ak. They ran around drunk, killing hunters and having sex with women. Their legend said that once a woman had sex with them, she was cursed to never desire marriage.

So, the moral of this story is that should you find yourself covered in a strange substance and it gives you the power to shape-shift or play a mean flute, use it for sex. Apparently everyone else did.

10 Emails That Could Get You Fired

2011-09-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

We all know the internet has given us instant communication…in fact, instantaneous communication, which seems to me to be even quicker than instant :). When sending emails, the moment we click that send button whatever we wrote is gone—it's winging its way through cyberspace, out there for the recipient (or recipients) to receive. If we have second thoughts, it's too late to stop the message from reaching its destination.

And as we also know, sometimes we click that send button when we shouldn't. The results can be troublesome when it's something personal we're sending from our computer at home. But when it's work related, it can put our job in jeopardy. And the situation can be compounded by the fact that facial expression, tone of voice, and body language don't show up in the written word. We can add our emoticons and smiley faces to convey a light or teasing intent, but that doesn't always change the words we've chosen.

There are some basic, common sense rules that apply to sending email, especially work related messages. I recently found a list of 10 such rules that I'd like to share with you.

1. All capped email: Messages typed in all capital letters are considered CYBER SHOUTING. You can use quote marks or italics if your intention is to merely emphasize certain words or phrases.

2. Personal email: If your intention is to send confidential or time-sensitive information, perhaps you would be better off using the phone or meeting in person. Emails can be printed, copied, and/or forwarded to any number of people unknown to the original sender. Don't say anything in an email that you wouldn't want to eventually end up in the company newsletter.

3. Sloppy email: Take an extra moment before clicking send so that you can check spelling, grammar, punctuation and to make sure that what you've written is clear so that it cannot be misunderstood.

4. Joke email: What is funny to you and said without any malice or bad intention might be offensive to others. What you've put into a written communication is permanent and can easily be forwarded to any number of people without your knowledge.

5. Long email: Keep it short. If work related, you might want to consider putting your entire message in the subject line. "Budget meeting at 3pm today." Follow this with the acronym EOM for end of message. That way the recipient won't need to take the time to open the email. However…only use acronyms when you're sure the recipient knows that they mean.

6. Buddy-buddy email: In a business situation, sometimes it's counter-productive to be too casual or personal.

7. Congratulatory email: A congratulatory email for something like a job promotion doesn't convey the same type of personal feeling as a special card or hand written note. Sending out the congratulations wishes via email has a very impersonal feel to it, something more akin to a duty that can be dispatched in a matter of seconds rather than a sincere gesture that required thought and a personal effort.

8. Over-shared email: When sending a message to a large number of people, especially employees scattered around different locations of the company, using the bcc feature will guarantee that the only email address showing up will be that of the recipient only rather than a long list of email addresses.

9. Oops email: When receiving an email at work that was distributed to a large number of people, only respond to those who require your input. That reply all button isn't always necessary, especially if the only person needing your response is the sender.

And finally, the most obvious of all.

10. Moody email: It should go without saying that you should never send an email when you're angry. It's way too easy to say something in the heat of the moment that you will regret later. Possibly even something that could get you fired.

10 Weird Allergies

2011-09-04T08:01:00.000-05:00

Allergies are caused by the body's defense system overreacting to some substance it comes in contact with. We're all familiar with the allergies to everyday things such as mold, pollen, specific foods, and animal dander. There are 40 to 50 million Americans allergic to these common bad guys. But you'd be surprised at the uncommon allergies people can develop.

Here's a list of 10 (in no particular order) weird and unusual allergies.

1) Water Allergy
Water is absolutely mandatory for our survival, but there are those rare people who get the hives from water. The hives and itching usually go away in 15 to 30 minus and antihistamines will relieve the symptoms.

2) Exercise Allergy
This type of allergy has only been officially reported in medical journals about 1000 times since the 1970s. Of course, unofficially is a different story…at one time or another I imagine most of us have professed an allergy to exercising. :) In mild cases the result is hives. But in more severe cases it can lead to anaphylaxis, a dangerous condition where the blood pressure drops suddenly and there is difficulty breathing. This is the same type of reaction as severe food allergies such as those to peanuts or shellfish and is treated as a medical emergency, usually with injections of epinephrine.

3) Sun Allergy
Solar exposure can result in hives with the itching and stinging symptoms can be relieved with antihistamines, but not prevented. Sun allergy is very rare. The hives appear within 30 minutes of exposure to the sun and will clear up within minutes of getting out of the sun. Needless to say, avoiding the sun can prevent this reaction.

4) Electricity Allergy
Those who claim to suffer from electrosensitivity say they are sensitive to electric fields generated by products such as cell phones, microwaves, computers, and power lines. The symptoms include headache, ringing in the ears, fatigue, among other complaints. The experts say this is one type of allergy that you don't have to worry about because it doesn't exist. There have been several studies done and almost all of them have come up empty.

5) Shoes Allergy
A poison ivy-type rash on your feet after you've worn leather shoes could be allergic to the chemicals used in the leather tanning process. This type of allergy is known as contact dermatitis and can be diagnosed with a patch test. Contact dermatitis is somewhat of a catchall term for a common skin condition resulting from contact with many possible irritants. The solution to shoe allergy? Wear socks or shoes made from something other than leather.

6) Allergy to Money
Another type of contact dermatitis can be an allergic rash on your hands after handling coins. The culprit would most likely be the nickel metal in coins, also an alloy found in the manufacture of jewelry, zippers, and eyeglass frames among other things. The best treatment is to avoid the substance. Good luck with that one. :)

7) Allergy to Touch
This is known as dermographism and is another form of hives. The literal translation is skin writing and was named because with this type of allergy a person can write his name on his skin using nothing more than the pressure from a fingernail. That pressure on the skin causes an itchy hive reaction. This reaction can also be the result of tight clothing or even toweling off after a hot shower. The resultant itching can be controlled with antihistamines.

8) Cold Allergy
This allergy is very rare, but potentially dangerous. It can be life-threatening if a person with this allergy is suddenly exposed to extreme cold, such as diving into very cold water. This can cause a massive release of histamine, which can severely drop the blood pressure. Handling this kind of allergy is to focus on prevention such as avoiding exposure of large areas of skin to the cold.

9) Allergy To Pollinated Fruit
Millions of Americans have allergies to pollen and some of them could also experience a type of allergy known as oral allergy syndrome. This happens when someone allergic to pollen eats a fruit that contains the same protein as the pollen. This is a cross reactivity and can happen between such things as ragweed and bananas, grasses and tomato, and birch trees with apples, plums, or peaches. The symptoms are itchy mouth and throat and sometimes swelling of the lips and will go away if you swallow or spit out the fruit with treatment usually being unnecessary.

And finally…talk about weird allergies:

10) Semen Allergy
This is an extremely rare type of allergy in women. Symptoms are hives and swelling in the vaginal area after sexual intercourse. The best treatment is to use a condom. For women who want to get pregnant, they can get shots to treat semen allergy.

Paraprosdokians…Huh?

2011-08-28T07:18:00.000-05:00

You may be asking yourself just what is a paraprosdokian. Valid question. And the answer is—"Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation." An example would be: Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

A friend recently sent me an email with a list of paraprosdokians that I'd like to share with you. I hope you enjoy them.

1) The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

2) Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

3) If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

4) We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

5) Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

6) Evening news is where they begin with "Good Evening," and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

7) I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

8) Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, "In case of emergency, notify:" I put DOCTOR.

9) I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

10) Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they're sexy.

11) Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

12) A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

13) You do not need a parachute to sky dive. You only need a parachute if you want to sky dive again.

14) I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

15) To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

16) Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

17) Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

18) Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish that's where they were.

19) I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a lime wedge, and a shot of tequila.

And finally something for writers to think about.

20) To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

Sexy Men Of The Zodiac

2011-08-21T06:17:00.000-05:00

Why are we drawn to one man over another? Could it have anything to do with his astrological sign? What are the seductive qualities of each man of the Zodiac? I recently read an article exploring this concept. What is so appealing about the men of the various signs?

Aries (March 21 – April 19)
The Aries Ram is youthful, no matter what his age is. He is ruled by action-oriented Mars. His passion for life is legendary. He often tends to live on the edge which can be exciting, but dangerous. He's not known for his discretion or fidelity in his youth, however later is life he learns to settle down.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
The Taurus Bull has an earthy charm and a confidence that makes him sexy, even if he's not classically handsome. He's fun and flirtatious, but when it comes to commitment he moves slowly. He's likely to stay single until someone really special comes along, but when that happens he'll take his time and wait until that special woman comes around.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
The Gemini Twin has a twinkle in his eye and a wiggle of his cute ass. He's a real delight with his quick repartee and sexy comebacks. Nobody speaks the language of seduction better. His Twin aspect shows he has a strong feminine as well as masculine side which says he understands the way both sexes think, something that melts your defenses.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
The Cancer Crab is a sweetheart who'll win you over with his sexy smile and unassuming manner. He'll do just about anything for those he loves. Whether he's protecting you or relaxing in your warm embrace, he's a family man through and through who's definitely in it for the long haul.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)
The Leo Lion is a natural showman and has a sexy, devil-may-care wit. Like his ruler, the Sun, he radiates manly confidence despite his insecurities and won't back down from a fight. In essence, he's a hero and his strength is his most appealing quality. Even the quieter Leo has a thrilling sense of masculinity about him.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
The Virgo man is intelligent and thoughtful. He remembers your birthday and your favorite perfume. Being ruled by lightning-quick Mercury has his mind going a mile a minute. He tends to be overly analytical and sometimes critical. And just when he's about to drive you crazy with his fussiness, he'll give you a sexy, sheepish grin and melt your heart. His intelligence is his sexiest quality.

Libra (September 23 – October 22)
The Libra man understands and adores his lovers which is a very attractive quality. He's ruled by Venus, the planet of love, and knows how to treat a woman. Candlelight dinners and romantic walks on the beach appeal to him, but he's also the thinking person's turn-on. With his quick mind and way with words, he's always up for a discussion about relationships or culture, and is a champion of fidelity and civil rights.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
The Scorpio man has a quiet intensity that will reel you in. With smoldering eyes and a sultry voice, they guy can literally mesmerize you which is why Scorpios make good magicians and hypnotists. His sexual magnetism comes from deep inside and its power formidable. He's not a good match for the woman who wants to stay on the surface of things.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
The Sagittarius Archer's attraction is the call of the wild in his soul and that far-off look in his eye. "Don't fence me in" is his motto. Like his signature animal the horse, he responds to gentle caresses and soothing words. There are some who might find him too hard to pin down.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
The Capricorn Goat has it together, or at least projects the image of being in control. He's ruled by the ambitious Saturn and is a master of the material world and has a seductive attractiveness that goes with that kind of worldly power. He always aims for the top. You can't keep this guy down for long.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
The Aquarius man doesn't fit the mold. He's a true free spirit who follows his own drummer. He's the type who is usually ahead of his time whose quirkiness is part of his genius. As ruled by the inventive Uranus, he'll dazzle you with utopian ideas and turn you on to worlds you never knew existed. He'll keep you guessing and take you to the edge sexually however emotionally he tends to be reticent and doesn't like to talk about feelings.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
The sensitive and caring Pisces Fish fills you with tingly feelings as he swims straight into your heart. Pisces loves to touch and be touched and often communicates best non-verbally. Sex and spirit are one in the same to the guy which makes your lovemaking ecstatic.

The Phenomenon of Speed Dating

2011-08-14T08:27:00.000-05:00

What Is It

Speed dating has been around for a little over ten years. It's a dating system whose purpose is to allow singles to meet as many other singles one-on-one as possible in a short specified amount of time. Its origins have been credited to a Rabbi who devised it as a way to help Jewish singles meet prospective mates. It has since shown up as a plot device in several movies and television shows.

The first speed dating event took place at Pete's Café in Beverly Hills in late 1998. By the year 2000, speed dating had become very popular. Supporters of the phenomenon claim it saves time since most people quickly decide if they are romantically compatible and first impressions are often permanent.

How It Works

Organizers of these events usually require advance registration with the total number of participants limited to a specific number. Small events have twenty to thirty participants while others are very large such as the recent one in New Jersey with three hundred and fifty participants. Needless to say, there is usually a registration fee which covers the cost of putting on the event and a profit for the organizers.

Each participant is assigned an identification of some sort, usually a number. They are not allowed to exchange personal information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, etc., during the "dating" process of the event.

Men and women rotate so that they each has the opportunity to meet the other in a series of short dates that last a set amount of time, usually somewhere between three and eight minutes each depending on the rules set down by the organizer. This could be something as simple as small tables with the women sitting on one side and the men on the other side opposite. At the end of each time period, a signal is given and the participants move on to the next date which might be achieved by the men getting up and moving to the next table to begin his date with a different woman. This continues until each man has had a date with each woman.

At the end of the event, the participants each submit a list to the organizers showing which of their dates they are interested in seeing again. The organizers then compare all the lists and when a match occurs, they forward the personal information to each of them and they are on their own at that point.

Events can have a theme or specific requirements of the participants. Older men and younger women or older women and younger men with age ranges pre-determined. Gays. Lesbians. Ethnic groups. Religious affiliation. Maybe groups that share an interest in a certain hobby.

Proponents of speed dating claim it's time efficient and the structure of the event eliminates the need of trying to figure out how to introduce yourself or create a situation where you can start a conversation with someone. Participants can come alone without feeling awkward or out of place.

A 2005 study at the University of Pennsylvania found that most people made their decision to accept or reject within the first three seconds of meeting and issues such as religion, previous marriages, and smoking habits weren't as important as expected.

A 2006 study in Edinburgh, Scotland, found that conversation about travel resulted in more matches than conversation about films.

Various studies of speed dating events came to the general conclusion that women were more selective than men. The above mentioned University of Pennsylvania study reported that the average man was chosen by 34% of the women and the average woman was chosen by 49% of the men.

Several television shows have used speed dating as an episode plot point—usually a prelude to murder. The murder victim had just participated in a speed dating event which provides a bunch of suspects with whom the victim had no previous connection thus making solving the crime more difficult. Especially when the speed dating ended up having nothing to do with the crime. :)

Now, with all this said about speed dating being a relatively new phenonemon…

Many years ago (many, many, many years ago) when I was a freshman in college and pledging a sorority, the same process now referred to as speed dating was the method used by one of the sororities for the members to meet and interview the prospective pledges. Each member had five minutes with each potential pledge then the member moved on to the next candidate for membership.

I have to admit that it all had a very "assembly line" feel, but was definitely a more efficient use of time than a room full of people standing around not knowing who to talk to or what to do.

Vampires And Other Immortals Part 2 of 2

2011-08-07T06:22:00.000-05:00

Immortal Living Organism

Meet Turritopsis nutriculaas, a form of jellyfish that is the world's only known immortal creature.

Before we talk about fictional immortals, here's a bit of information about the above photograph. Scientists have recognized Turritopsis nutriculaas as the only known animal that is capable of rejuvenating itself, thus sustaining life over and over again—being immortal.

Jellyfish usually die after propagating, but according to the London Times Turritopsis reverts to a sexually immature stage after reaching adulthood and is capable of rejuvenating itself. It is the only known animal capable of reverting to its juvenile polyp state. In theory, this cycle can repeat indefinitely, making it potentially immortal.

The creature is only 4-5mm in diameter and is found in warm tropical waters but is believed to be spreading across the world as ships discharge their ballast water in ports.

And now on to the other type of immortal—the characters in our myths, literature and movies/television. I recently came across a list of the top ten immortal characters as compiled by LiveScience. This is a cross-section sampling from various forms of storytelling.

10. Peter Pan: The famous boy who never grows up (or grows old) and prefers to live on the magical isle of Never Land.

9. Dracula: If you're desperate to live forever, you could try getting bitten by Dracula or any of the other well-known vampires. Of course, you'd have to give up Italian food which is loaded with garlic and getting a nice suntan would be out of the question.

8. Lazarus Long: A character in many of Robert Heinlein's science fiction novels. Lazarus lives to be over 2,000 years old, travels to distant planets, and travels through time.

7. Nicolas Flamel: J.K. Rowling based Flamel's character (good friend to Hogwart's headmaster) on a real-life French 15th Century alchemist who legend claims successfully created the Philosopher's Stone, a mythical elixir that turns lead into gold and grants eternal life.

6. Tithonus: When Greek goddess Eos asks Zeus to grand her mortal lover, Tithonus, eternal life, she forgets to also ask for eternal youth. Tithonus lives forever, but he grows old and frail, and begs for death.

5. Dorian Gray: Oscar Wilde created this character who remains young and handsome while his portrait ages. He becomes corrupt, but his crimes and true age show only in the face of the painting which grows progressively more monstrous and withered.

4. Highlander: In the 1986 movie, Connor MacLeod is a member of the immortals, a mysterious race who die only when they are beheaded. The immortals must battle each other until only one is left to claim The Prize: the gift of immortality.

3. Grail Knight: A knight of the First Crusade. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade he is given the task of guarding the Holy Grail, a crucible that grants eternal life to any who drink from it.

2. Methuselah: He's the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, becoming a father at the age of 187 and living to be 969 years old.

1. Arwen: A half-elven maiden in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings who renounces eternal life to marry her mortal sweetheart. She lives to be 2,901 years old.

Do you have a favorite immortal character among the many?

Vampires And Other Immortals—Part 1 of 2

2011-07-31T06:34:00.000-05:00

Vampires are big business these days, thanks in part to such popular book and movie series as TWILIGHT in addition to various television series. Of course, vampires have never really been out of style. They were popularized in literature by Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, DRACULA, but stories of vampires go back many centuries before that.

Where did the concept of vampires come from? The answer to that question exists somewhere in the space separating science and superstition. Some sources claim the stories of vampires began with the Romanian prince Vlad Tepes who lived 1431 – 1476 and fought for independence against the Ottoman Empire. His methods of dealing with his enemies included slowly impaling them on stakes, drawing and quartering, and burning them alive. It all seems very brutal and sadistic by today's standards, but not all that uncommon for those times. The same methods were used by the Catholic Church during the Spanish Inquisition and by other rulers and powerful leaders during the Middle Ages to torture and kill their enemies.

Bram Stoker is said to have patterned some of his Dracula character after Vlad Tepes as the birth of the modern fictional vampire. However, the roots of real vampires have very different origins. Stories of vampires are a worldwide phenomenon with localized versions of vampires coming from almost all cultures. Before science progressed to the point where it could explain such things as weather patterns and germ theory, any bad event that did not have an obvious cause could be blamed on a vampire. The mythical creature was an easy answer to the age old question of why bad things happened to good people.

Superstitious villagers took their belief that something had cursed them and put it together with their fear of the dead and came to the conclusion that recently buried people who had risen from the dead to do evil deeds were responsible. They dug up graves and were surprised by the way the corpses looked. Not understanding the process of decomposition, they assumed bodies immediately turned to skeletons.

Even with the original vampires being long gone, the cultural phenomenon of vampires continue to fascinate the world. And it isn't just the macabre and horror stories that draw on the vampire character. We have several examples of vampires being used as objects of humor. Certainly Al Lewis' Grandpa character on the old MUNSTERS television series. We have comedy movies such as LOVE AT FIRST BITE and Mel Brooks' 1995 film DRACULA, DEAD AND LOVING IT.

And in the last 20 years or so we are just as likely to see the vampire on television and in movies as the drop dead (pun intended) gorgeous sexy hero as we are in the role of villain.

Even children have been caught up in the commercialism of the vampire world. There's General Mills' Count Chocula breakfast cereal, marketed to children. And not even the long running award-winning children's television series SESAME STREET was able to ignore the vampire allure. One of their popular Muppet characters is The Count, complete with black Dracula style cape and fangs.

Vampire movies have been around since the days of silent films with the 1922 classic, NOSFERATU featuring a grotesque frightening looking vampire before Bela Lugosi showed us his charming and suave version of Count Dracula.

What are your favorite vampire movies?

Next week (Sunday, August 7) I'm going to post Part 2 of Vampires And Other Immortals with a Top Ten list of immortals from myths, literature and movies.

Words Of Wisdom From T-Shirts

2011-07-23T23:19:00.000-05:00

For the most part, T-shirts seem to have a lot to say. They tell us where their owner went on vacation, what school he or she attended, what kind of car they drive, where they work, what organizations they belong to, what causes they support, and a multitude of other miscellaneous information. Some are serious and others are just fun. I've collected several interesting T-shirt sayings and I'd like to share them with you.

Wine improves with age. I improve with wine.

Everyone has to believe in something. I believe I'll have another glass of wine.

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even use it in the food.

Hand over the chocolate and no one will get hurt.

At what age am I old enough to know better?

I before E except after C … weird?

National Sarcasm Society … like we need your support.

If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research.

If I'm talking, you should be taking notes.

Why can't I be rich instead of good looking?

To err is human, to arrrrrgh is pirate.

Searching for the meaning of life, but will settle for my car keys.

Paddle faster, I hear banjo music!

I'm often confused with my evil twin.

Flying is the 2nd greatest thrill known to man. Landing is the 1st.

I'd be a vegetarian if bacon grew on trees.

Awww, another Whiners Club meeting already?

Disheveled…not just a look, it's a lifestyle.

I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.

I'm confused…wait, maybe I'm not.

Sarcasm. Just one more service I provide.

Where's the switch that turns you off?

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened.

Deja Moo…the feeling you've heard this bullshit before.

Don't worry about what people think. They don't do it very often.

Everything I say can be fully substantiated by my own opinion.

I am the Grammariam about whom your mother warned you.

Ending a sentence with a preposition? That is something up with which I shall not put.

I'm always late. My ancestors arrived on the Juneflower.

There. Their. They're not the same.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Old age comes at an inconvenient time.

Irony. The opposite of wrinkly.

And finally, seen on a Harley Davidson T-shirt: You won't see a motorcycle parked in front of psychiatrist's office.

Have any of you come across any fun or interesting T-shirt sayings you'd like to share?

10 Odd Ways To Get Rid Of Flies

2011-07-17T06:38:00.000-05:00

We're in the thick of summer. In addition to mosquitoes (my blog posted on Sunday, June 5, 2011), there's also that pesky little problem of flies. They're everywhere—not only outdoors, but they also follow you into the house if you leave the door open one little second longer than necessary.

I came across an article listing 10 sure-fire home remedies for dealing with flies, sure-fire ways of getting rid of them—ways that may or may not work.

1) Fabric Softener Sheets
As a home remedy, hanging fabric softener sheets on the clothesline is said to repel flies. Unfortunately, after hanging the sheets then sitting next to them to enjoy a cold summer drink will only make your neighbor think you're nuts. The flies don't seem to be bothered at all.

2) Plastic Bags Filled With Water
The claim is that clear plastic bags filled with water and hung by the doors will disorient the flies and they'll leave. Oddly enough, there seems to be some validity to this one during the day. But come twilight, the flies totally ignore the bags of water as if they weren't there at all.

3) Crushed Mint
Here's a home remedy that's rumored to work for everything from getting rid of ants to curing headaches so it's no wonder that it's been suggested as a method of repelling flies. This was tested by crushing mint leaves and leaving them in a cup on the table. Even though the flies didn't land inside the cup, they continued to buzz around it, so they weren't actually repelled.

4) Lavender-scented Candles
This one is a yes-it-works and no-it-doesn't. Test showed that a 3-wick candle with a heavy concentration of scented oil seemed to work in keeping away the flies, while smaller single-wick candles with a weaker fragrance didn't work.

5) Sugar Trap
This home remedy claims that if you pour a quarter cup of sugar into an open mason jar then fill the jar halfway with water, the flies will be attracted to the sugar which will cause them to fall into the jar and drown. Well, as they say, it looked good on paper but the reality wasn't as good. The flies simply walked down the side of the jar, took a sip or two, then flew out.

6) Dish Soap Trap
Similar to the sugar trip, pour an inch of liquid dish soap into a jar, then add an inch of water. This one was good news—bad news. Floral scented soap didn't work that well, but the fruit scented one seemed to do the job of attracting the flies to their doom.

7) DIY Fly Paper
This do-it-yourself procedure says to cover heavy paper in syrup or honey, then sprinkle it with sugar and place the sheets of paper around the area with the fly problem. Sounds straight forward enough. However—as the temperature rises the heat melts the honey creating a disgusting sticky mess nearly impossible to clean up.

8) Clove-studded Apple
Your house will smell like Christmas, but unfortunately you'll still have the flies.

9) Basil
Makes a great centerpiece for the table, but doesn't do a thing to keep the flies away.

10) Fan
Place a box fan with the air directed toward you. This acts as a wind tunnel for the flies. Combine this with the soap traps and you have a winning home remedy.

Of course, there's always the tried-and-true method of having someone posted to 24 hour duty with a fly swatter to handle the situation.

Or you can procure a nice selection of frogs.

Does anyone have any sure-fire solutions for keeping flies away from the picnic table or away from the door? Please feel free to share them.

7 Reasons Your Brain CAN'T Spot A Liar

2011-07-10T06:45:00.000-05:00

Think you can always spot a liar? That you're able to successfully call someone's bluff? According to a study in the journal of Psychological Science In The Public Interest…you're probably wrong. Research shows there are several factors that contribute to our ability—or more accurately, our inability—to tell when we're being deceived.

Here are 7 of those factors:

1) Liars Get Ignored: The Ostrich Effect
One reason deception goes undetected is because we don't want to uncover the truth. Quite often it's because the lie is easier to handle. This has been referred to as hiding our head in the sand, or the Ostrich Effect, and often leads to more serious lies which have more serious implications.

2) Liars Don't Have Pinocchio's Nose
Do you think someone's lying because he or she won't look you in the eye? Because beads of perspiration stand out on the forehead? According to research, there aren't any tell-tale clues specifically related to lying or deception. One study examined 158 different clues believed to be associated with lying and of these 118 showed no connection to deception.

3) Liars Are Hard To Spot
Are you still convinced you can always spot a liar? You'll need a very good eye because studies show that contrary to popular belief there are very few behavioral differences between honest people and liars.

4) Liars Know How To Embed Their Lies
Liars are smart. Instead of telling an all-out huge lie, they usually mix their lies with enough truth to make them plausible. Another form of this is to embellish on the positives rather than to say something negative about someone.

5) Liars Try To Fool You
This undoubtedly seems obvious, but one problem in spotting a deception is that liars use strategies that appear truthful.

6) Liars Don't Tell Us If We Caught Them
When we get feedback on a completed project it allows us to make improvements next time we tackle a similar project. This isn't the case with deception. If we don't know when we've been fooled, we can't learn how to detect the deception the next time.

7) Some People Are Just Good Liars
Some people have perfected this ability. Very little research has been done on the features of a good liar. One of those rare studies did identify 6 features that might play a key role in whether a person is particularly adept at lying.
   A: People whose natural behavior disarms suspicions
   B: People who don't consciously find it difficult to lie
   C: People who do not experience fear, guilt or delight when lying
   D: People who are good actors and display an honest demeanor
   E: People whose attractiveness may lead to assumption of honesty
   F: People who are good psychologists and have a sense of what others want to hear.

Hmmm…I guess the bottom line is that we all need to remain vigilant rather than automatically accept everything at face value. But if not, could I interest you in a bridge being constructed between California and Hawaii, some ocean front property in Arizona, and some swamp land with oil underneath it that I have for sale? :)

10 Question Quiz About Fireworks Safety

2011-07-03T06:43:00.000-05:00

July 4, Independence Day—on this date in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. The U.S. Constitution, the document that emerged from the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, is the oldest national constitution in the world.

As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by fireworks, parades, and backyard barbecues. Fireworks displays are common throughout the world and are the focal point of many cultural and religious celebrations. Fireworks were invented in ancient China to scare away evil spirits, as a natural extension of the Chinese invention of gunpowder.

With 4th of July fireworks comes the concern for safety. A reality for the holiday is that fireworks cause thousands of injuries, and even some deaths, in addition to enough fires to make July 4 the day with the most reported fires across the United States according to the National Fire Protection Association.

So…how much do you know about fireworks safety? Here's a 10 question quiz to test your knowledge. Correct answers are at the end.

1) How hot does a sparkler burn?
a: 212 degrees
b: 600 degrees
c: 950 degrees
d: 1200 degrees

2) What portion of 4th of July fires are caused by fireworks?
a: 10 percent
b: 35 percent
c: 50 percent
d: 90 percent

3) Which age group has the most injuries reported from fireworks?
a: under 20
b: 20 – 40
c: 40 – 60
d: 60+

4) You should skip buying fireworks in brown paper packaging as that could be a sign that they're made for professionals, not consumers.
a: true
b: false

5) What percentage of firework-related injuries in 2008 occurred between June 20 and July 20?
a: 1 of 4
b: 1 of 3
c: 2 of 3
d: 100 percent

6) If a pack of fireworks has not fully functioned, you should cautiously relight it.
a: true
b: false

7) What's the best way to dispose of a used firework?
a: throw in trash
b: use hose or bucket of water to soak them then throw away
c: bury them

8) Last year what was the most common fireworks injury?
a: fractures and sprains
b: contusions and lacerations
c: ear injuries
d: burns
e: eye injuries

9) According to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission investigation, which of these were common reasons for fireworks injuries?
a: holding fireworks in the hand
b: mischief
c: debris or smoke from a malfunction
d: errant flight path from a malfunction
e: early or late ignition from a malfunction
f: all of the above

10: Never light more than how many fireworks at a time?
a: 1
b: 2
c: 3

And now, for those of you who want to see how well you did on the quiz—

1) the correct answer is d…1200 degrees F, hot enough to burn certain metals and ignite clothing.

2) the correct answer is c…50 percent, when shooting fireworks keep a bucket of water or sand available.

3) the correct answer is a…under 20, children 10 – 14 are more than twice as much at risk for fireworks injuries.

4) the correct answer is a…true.

5) the correct answer is c…2 out of 3

6) the correct answer is b…false, any malfunctioning fireworks should be soaked in water and then thrown away

7) the correct answer is b…use hose or bucket of water to soak them and then throw them away

8) the correct answer is d…burns

9) the correct answer is f…all of the above

10) the correct answer is a…light just 1 at a time.

Happy…and safe…holiday to everyone.

10 Things NOT To Say At A Job Interview

2011-06-26T06:26:00.000-05:00

We all know that going on a job interview is cause for varying degrees of nervous tension. We're uncomfortable, very concerned about making a good impression both personally and with our resume and work history. Saying the wrong thing…misspeaking…is upper in our mind.

All of this discomfort is part of the process. But, there are those who go beyond the bounds of mere jittery nerves. I recently came across an article about job interviews. The following comments were listed as having actually been said during the course of a job interview.

Q: Why did you leave your last job?
A: "I have a problem with authority."

Q: Why should we hire you?
A: "I would be a great asset to the events team because I party all the time."

Q: Do you have any questions?
A: "Cross dressing isn't a problem, is it?"

Q: Why are you leaving your current job?
A: "I was fired from my last job because they were forcing me to attend anger management classes."

Q: Why do you want to work for us?
A: "My old boss didn't like me, so one day I just left and never came back. And here I am!"

Q: What are your weaknesses? [related to job skills]
A: "I get angry easily and I went to jail for domestic violence. But I won't get mad at you."

Q: When have you demonstrated leadership skills?
A: "Well my best example would be in the world of online video gaming. I pretty much run the show. It takes a lot to do that."

Q: Is there anything else I should know about you?
A: "You should probably know I mud wrestle on the weekends."

Q: When can you start?
A: "I need to check with my mom on that one."

Q: Have you submitted your two weeks' notice to your current employer?
A: "What is two weeks' notice? I've never quit a job before. I've always been fired."

The following are random responses and comments made by job seekers at interviews.

"If I get an offer, how long do I have before I have to take the drug test?"

"When you do background checks on candidates, do things like public drunkenness arrests come up?"

"May I have a cup of coffee? I think I may still be a little drunk from last night."

Do you have any job seeking experiences you'd like to share…either as the interviewer or the interviewee?

10 Weird and Wacky Laws

2011-06-19T07:31:00.000-05:00

There is no question that many weird and wacky laws exist out there. You can only scratch your head and wonder what the various state legislatures were thinking about when they actually took the time to pass these strange ideas into law. And to take it a step farther, you can only wonder how some of these laws could possibly be enforced.

Many of these weird and wacky laws have subsequently been taken off the books, however just as many of them are still laws but obviously not being enforced. It would be interesting to know what the penalty would be if convicted of breaking these laws.

Here is a sampling of ten such laws that caught my attention (and tickled my funny bone).

In TEXAS, an anti-crime law requires criminals to give their victims notice—oral or written—twenty-four hours in advance of the crime they're planning to commit and the nature of that crime.

In WAYNESBORO, VIRGINIA, it was once illegal for a woman to drive a car up Main Street unless her husband walked in front of the car waving a red flag.

In the state of WASHINGTON, it is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the local chief of police before entering the town.

In IOWA, one-armed piano players who perform must to it for free.

In ALABAMA, it's illegal to wear a funny fake mustache to church.

In NEW HAMPSHIRE, you may not tap your feet, nod your head or in any way keep time with the music played in a tavern, restaurant or café.

In CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, it is forbidden to fish while sitting on a giraffe's neck.

In FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, a person can be jailed for wearing a hat while dancing or wearing a hat to an event where dancing is taking place.

In MINNESOTA, no one is allowed to cross the line into the state with a duck on his/her head.

In DENVER, COLORADO, next door neighbors may not lend each other vacuum cleaners.

And here's a bonus offering that truly boggles the mind:

In MICHIGAN, beavers can be fined up to $10,000 per day for building unlicensed dams, according to a letter the state once sent certain beavers in Grand Rapids. This actually happened! After complaints about flooding on neighboring property, the state sent a letter to the land owner ordering him to remove unauthorized wood debris dams. The reply sent by the landowner was widely circulated around the internet as he pointed out that the "wood debris dams" belonged to beavers and he was not responsible for it. Eventually the matter was dropped and it seems unlikely that this would actually happen again.

Do any of you have weird laws in your state or country that have long ago outlived their original purpose but are still on the books?

7 Weird American Museums

2011-06-12T06:26:00.000-05:00

Museums…we've all been to them whether in our home town or on our travels. And there are all types of museums housing and displaying treasures depicting so many different themes. There are art museums presenting all types of art from the paintings of the old masters to modern art and all varieties in between, museums dedicated to specific historical events and times, living history museums including live demonstrations and presenters in period costumes, museums of cultural relevance, and museums such as those of the Smithsonian that cover just about everything from fossils to space travel.

I recently saw an article listing what it claimed to be the 7 weirdest museums in America. And I have to admit, I think they really hit on a good selection. So here, in no particular order, is their list of 7.

1) National Museum of Funeral History
This Houston, Texas, museum was founded in 1992 and claims that "any day above ground is a good one." The museum's mission is to preserve the heritage of the funeral industry. They offer exhibits such as a full-scale replica of Pope John Paul II's crypt, a 1900s casket factory and a Civil War embalming diorama.

2) Leila's Hair Museum
This Independence, Missouri, museum is dedicated to…you guessed it…hair. According to the museum, in Victorian times it was popular to make wreaths, jewelry and other ornamentations out of human hair and Leila's Hair Museum keep the tradition alive. Visitors can see 159 wreaths and over 2000 pieces of jewelry containing or made of human hair that dates back before 1900.

3) Mutter Museum
This Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, museum is probably the best known of those on this list. I've seen it in show segments on the Travel Channel. It's a museum of medical oddities and specimens such as Grover Cleveland's tumor, a conjoined liver from Siamese twins, a slice of a murderer's brain, a woman who turned to wax after death.

4) Trash Museum
This Hartford, Connecticut, museum personifies the old adage that one man's trash is another man's treasure. The museum is run by the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority. Exhibits include an operating recycling facility, a mural showing the history of trash management and a visualization of how much trash a single person produces in a year.

5) SPAM Museum
And we're not talking about unwanted email. This Austin, Minnesota, museum is dedicated to SPAM, often heralded as America's favorite canned meat. The Hormel company created SPAM in 1937 and today there are 13 SPAM products. Museum visitors practice canning SPAM and brush up on SPAM trivia including its role in World War II.

6) The Museum Of Bad Art
Good art can be found in museums all over the country, but bad art? That's a whole different thing. This museum, founded in 1993, has 3 Massachusetts locations—Dedham, Somerville, and Brookline. It's "dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms and in all its glory."

7) Devil's Rope Museum
This McLean, Texas, museum was founded in 1991 and is the largest barbed wire museum in the world. The barbed wire museum gives the history of barbed wire (appropriately nicknamed devil's rope), displays artifacts, tells the significance of the invention, and the impact it had on the development of the Old West.

Do you have any weird museums in your town or have you come across any in your travels?

10 Bizarre Tips For Mosquito Prevention—True or False?

2011-06-05T06:45:00.000-05:00

Even though it's not officially summer until June 21, the fact is that Memorial Day has come and gone and it's now the summer season. In most states school is out and summer vacations are underway.

And summer time means being outdoors whether a picnic in the park, a barbeque in the backyard, or a camping trip. Unfortunately, being outdoors has one very large stigma attached to it—mosquitoes. With this year's excessive amounts of rain and flooding in many parts of the country, that will undoubtedly translate to more mosquitoes than usual which is not good news for the outdoor enthusiast.

I recently came across an article listing 10 bizarre tips for dealing with mosquitoes, some of them real and others merely rumor. Here's that list.

Tip #1) Drink Lots Of Beer
This is a rumor. The reasoning behind this wishful thinking tip is that alcohol and yeast are not appealing to mosquitoes. In reality, the opposite is true. Mosquitoes prefer the blood of beer drinkers over anyone else.

Tip #2) Fire Up A Bubble Machine
This is real. It's been shown that mosquitoes have been repelled by soapy solutions. This is less about bubbles and more about the soapy suds.

Tip #3) Mix Up Some 'Dew
This is sort of real. Someone made a suggestion that mixing up a solution of Mountain Dew and dish washing soap, putting it in cups, and leaving them around the yard would keep mosquitoes away. Attracted to the soft drink and repelled by the soap. Perhaps save the Mountain Dew for the refreshment stand?

Tip #4) Wear Only White
This is a rumor. The theory behind this is that when you wear bright and dark colors your clothes absorb heat which attracts all kinds of bugs including mosquitoes. In reality, when it's hot outside you're going to have a higher body temperature no matter what you wear.

Tip #5) Rub Chives On Your Pulse Points
This is real. But do you really want to do it? Mosquitoes do not like the smell of chives, but that also applies to the friends and family around you.

Tip #6) Eat Plenty Of Garlic
This is real. But, as with the chives in tip #5, do you really want to do this? If you happen to be eating a garlic laden meal, mosquitoes hate you. And you'll also be repelling vampires if you're eating this garlic laden meal at night when they're out and about.

Tip #7) Vacuum Them Up
This is real. However, how many of us have the reflexes and eyesight to be able to vacuum a mosquito in mid air?

Tip #8) Try This App
This is real. But there are reservations about doing it. There are a few iPhone apps available that are designed to put out a noise that repels mosquitoes. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on all varieties of mosquito and it drives cats and dogs nuts.

Tip #9) Rub Yourself With Fabric Softener Sheets
This is real. This tip agrees with tips #2 and #3 about mosquitoes not liking the taste or scent of soap. However, it sounds as if it would be irritating to the skin.

Tip #10) Spritz With Mouthwash
This is a rumor. It has been suggested that using a spray bottle and spritzing yourself with a 10 to 1 mix of water to Listerine will repel mosquitoes. It's true that the menthol and eucalyptus in the mouthwash doesn't appeal to them, but the 10 to 1 dilution negates that. And applying mouthwash directly to your skin will dry it out.

So, there you have it—the bizarre suggestions for avoiding the mosquito bites that seem to come along with summer's outdoor activities. Perhaps it's best to stick to the conventional choice of a product manufactured as an insect repellent. I, personally, find that Cutter Insect Repellent is a brand that works well.

10 States That Profit Most From Sin

2011-05-29T06:28:00.000-05:00

Sin! Just the mere mention of the word conjures up all types of images ranging from a deliciously sinful calorie-laden dessert all the way to the far reaches of the spectrum with the truly unthinkable and/or unacceptable.

But states profiting from sin? What's that all about?

I came across an article about state income derived from taxes on goods and services that are deemed to be sinful—sin taxes. The article's definition of sinful is all things related to tobacco, alcohol, and gambling.

In these tough economic times, states are scrambling to replace lost income and bolster their budgets any way they can. Many states have increased the percentage rate of their sin taxes in an attempt to have enough revenue to cover their expenses without making any more cuts to the state budget than are absolutely necessary. The article's ranking of states is based on the percentage of the state's total revenue that comes from sin taxes rather than the percent of the actual tax being levied or the dollar value of the income from those taxes. For example, Pennsylvania charges a 55 percent tax on slot machine profits while Las Vegas collects only 8 percent of the profits. But that 8 percent translates to a larger dollar amount than Pennsylvania's 55 percent tax on slot machines.

A few states generate less than 1 percent of their total revenue by taking advantage of people's desire for vice while other states derive between 5 percent and 13 percent of their state income from sin taxes. Something I found interesting about this list is the differentiation between lottery income and gambling income from other sources.

These are the states with the highest percentage of revenue from our proclivity for sin.

10) New Jersey: portion of total revenue from sin is 4.34 percent, most profitable sin is the lottery

9) New Hampshire: portion of total revenue from sin is 4.54 percent, most profitable sin is tobacco

8) Illinois: portion of total revenue from sin is 4.55 percent, most profitable sin is tobacco

7) Michigan: portion of total revenue from sin is 4.91 percent, most profitable sin is tobacco

6) Pennsylvania: portion of total revenue from sin is 5.04 percent, most profitable sin is gambling

5) South Dakota: portion of total revenue from sin is 5.63 percent, most profitable sin is the lottery

4) Indiana: portion of total revenue from sin is 6.11 percent, most profitable sin is gambling

3) Delaware: portion of total revenue from sin is 7.55 percent, most profitable sin is the lottery

2) Rhode Island: portion of total revenue from sin is 8.66 percent, most profitable sin is the lottery

Finally (and probably no surprise to anyone)
1) Nevada: portion of total revenue from sin is 12.83 percent, most profitable sin is gambling

Note: the article didn't say whether taxes on income from legalized prostitution in specific counties of Nevada was included.

10 Thoughts To Ponder

2011-05-22T05:23:00.000-05:00

These were sent to me in a email from a friend (thanks, Margaret)...some things to think about as one grows older. Not that any of us are really getting older. :)

10) Life is sexually transmitted.

9) Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

8) Men have two emotions: hungry and horny. If you see him without an erection…make him a sandwich.

7) Give someone a fish and you feed that person for a day. Teach someone to use the internet and that person won't bother you for weeks.

6) Some people are like a Slinky…not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

5) Health nuts are going to feel stupid some day, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

4) All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

3) Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut saves you $30?

2) In the 1960s people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

1) And the thought that landed in first place:
Life is like a jar of jalapeno peppers--what you do today might burn your ass tomorrow.

As someone recently said: "Don't worry about old age. It doesn't last long."

10 Workplace Rights You Thought You Had…

2011-05-08T05:59:00.000-05:00

Most people think they know their rights as an employee. Unfortunately, most of their information has come from television lawyer shows—definitely not a good source for legal facts. First thing to remember—there are federal laws and state laws and those state laws vary from state to state. What's valid in one state might not apply to any other state.

So…before you inform your employer that you know your rights, you might want to double check those facts.

1) "I was wrongfully terminated."
If you live in Montana, that's a possibility. Montana is the only state that has a law saying you can only be fired for just cause. The other 49 states are referred to as at-will states which means you can be fired for any reason. Or no reason at all.

2) "I know I have the right to see my file."
Don't go storming into the personnel office or human resources office and demand to see your personnel file because you have that right. There is no federal law that requires a private employer to let you inspect your file on demand or copy information from it. There are only some states that have laws requiring an employer to let you see your file and even fewer states where you are allowed to copy information from your personnel file. Many times, only legal action (such as a lawsuit) might get you access to your file.

3) "I demand my break right now."
There are no federal laws that require an employer to give you a work break for anything, even meals. Some states have laws requiring work breaks, but certainly not a majority of them. Health issues, such as bathroom breaks, are most likely covered by OSHA rulings. Lots of people get fired for demanding breaks they're not entitled to.

4) "I'm working in a hostile environment."
Unfortunately, a hostile environment is not illegal. Workplace harassment and bullying are not illegal, either. However, hostile environment or harassment due to race, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, color, taking family and medical leave, whistle blowing, or other legally protected status is illegal.

5) "I exercised my First Amendment rights."
If you work for a private employer, that wasn't a good thing for you to have done. Only government employees have free speech protections, and those are very limited. In most states you can be fired for your speech, including political speech, both in the workplace and outside of it. There are specified exceptions, but it would be wise to make sure your situation falls in those parameters before speaking out.

6) "My boss invaded my privacy."
Your boss has the legal right to read your emails and monitor your internet usage at work. However, if your employer wants to listen to or record your phone calls, there are some legal restrictions. You also have privacy rights regarding your medical information. There is no federal law protecting your social security number, but New York and California have limited protection against your employer displaying it.

7) "But this is a right to work state."
A non-compete agreement and right to work are not the same thing. Right to work only means you cannot be compelled to join a union in order to work for that company. Right to work doesn't mean your employer can't restrict your ability to work for competitors after you leave. Some states are right to work states, but not all of them. If someone tells you that the non-compete agreement you signed is meaningless or won't be enforced, don't believe it.

8) "I was retaliated against after I complained."
There is no law prohibiting an employer from retaliating against you for reporting or objecting to policy violations, ethical violations, bullying, or the fact that your boss is a jerk. If you do something that puts you in a legally protected category (such as making a worker's comp claim), you might be protected from retaliation.

9) "I was discriminated against because my boss didn't like me."
It's not illegal for your employer to discriminate against you for being yourself. Favoritism, nepotism, and being obnoxious are not illegal. There are situations where your employer discriminating against you are illegal (see item #4).

10) "I not only want to sue my company—I want to sue my boss."
Even though it might be satisfying to sue your ex-boss personally, you probably can't. Federal and many state discrimination laws simply don't allow it.

So, before you mouth off to your boss you might want to check the laws in your state to see exactly what your legal rights are in the matter.

7 Signs You're In A Manipulative Relationship

2011-05-01T06:37:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some of my old/rejected proposals and came across one that grabbed my attention. The heroine's backstory had her involved in a relationship where her ex-fiancé manipulated and controlled her without her realizing it at the time. And that, of course, made her go overboard on being totally independent and not needing anyone in her life which presented a major roadblock to any future relationship with the hero.

While thinking about whether or not to revive the shelved project, I came across an article that listed seven signs that indicate someone might be in a manipulative relationship that certainly tied into my partially completed synopsis from years gone by. Coincidence or the universe talking to me? :)

My blog topics have been in a lighter vein for the most part, but this time I decided on this more serious topic.

According to Dr. Mary Casey, author of How To Deal With Master Manipulators, "Manipulators aim to control their partners by pressing the buttons that get them emotional, whether it be making them feel afraid, unworthy, stupid, insecure, angry or frustrated."

Manipulators are usually passive-aggressive in their dealings which differentiates them from domestic abusers who use violence. If you're sad more often than happy in your relationship and feel that something is wrong but you can't figure out what, that could point to a manipulative relationship.

1) You're always falling short of your partners expectations.
In an argument, the person being manipulated is often made to feel that they are at fault all the time. What's happening is that the manipulator is shifting blame to them in subtle ways by saying things like, "So we're going to have the big interrogation are we?" Or perhaps, "Are you going to get all emotional again?"

2) You often feel guilty in your relationship and are always looking to repair the 'damage.'
This is a skill used by manipulators who says things like, "You have trust issues—why don't you trust me?"

3) You don't often know where you stand with your partner.
A manipulator often uses threats, both concealed and open, to keep a partner anxious and holding onto the relationship. It could be something like, "I don't even know why I'm here anymore. This isn't working for me."

4) You often feel like you're walking on eggshells around him or her.
Sometimes you're given lots of love and affection then at other times you're given the cold shoulder for no apparent reason.

5) You feel confused in the relationship and keep questioning or blaming yourself for making your partner angry or frustrated.
Manipulators excel at never being to blame for any problem in a relationship.

6) You're unhappy in your relationship at least 90 percent of the time.
Bottom line—if this is the case, then it's time to reevaluate why you're with that person, whether your partner is a manipulator or not.

7) You're anxious (as in anxiety rather than excited) about telling your partner your plans or about something you bought.
If this is the case, there's a good chance you're being manipulated or controlled.

If a few (or several) of these statements define the relationship of someone you know, that person is most likely involved with a manipulator and a manipulator is unlikely to change. That person is better off getting out of the relationship immediately and not allow herself to be coerced back into it with promises of changed behavior patterns.

Phobias For The Twenty-First Century

2011-04-24T07:39:00.000-05:00

Phobias…those irrational fears of just about anything you can think of. Most of them have been out there for centuries (if not longer). Some of them have been handed down through families.

But like so many other things, the twenty-first century has brought us a whole new collection of things to provide irrational fears.

Nomophobia is the fear of not having cell phone contact, whether it's due to a dead battery or because your network doesn't have coverage where you are. A fate worse than death?

Vidigameaphobia is the fear of video games. This can cover everything from simply being afraid of the games to the fear that the games could come to life. Hmm…maybe I need to buy that Indiana Jones game after all.

Interphobia is exactly what it sounds like…fear of the world wide web. Now that's a phobia to avoid at all costs.

Dextrophobia and its counterpart Levophobia offers us a couple of really strange phobias. Dextrophobia is the fear of everything to the right of your body while Levophobia is the fear of everything to the left of your body.

Coulrophobia has actually been around for a long time and is still going strong. It's the fear of clowns. Didn't Stephen King have a clown as one of his evil entities?

Alektorophobia is an extreme fear of live chickens. Maybe the scope of the fear should be expanded to include people who look like Col. Sanders?

Pupaphobia is related to Coulrophobia. They might even be first cousins. It's the fear of puppets. Not sure what you'd call the fear of a clown puppet.

Sesquipedalophobia, as the length of the word suggests, is the fear of very long words. Wouldn't a shorter word be more appropriate?

Cathisophobia is one that those of us working at computers need to avoid at all costs. It's the fear of sitting.

Genuphobia is the fear of knees. That must be really difficult in summer when warm weather clothing means lots of knees sticking out there for anyone to see.

And here's a bonus phobia to carry us through the twenty-first century. This has to be the ultimate fear: Phobophobia. Yep, it's exactly what it sounds like…a fear of fears.

My primary fear is bugs and other creepy crawler things. My irrational fear is, of course, totally rational. Do you have any irrational fears (or rational ones) you'd like to share?

Television Situation Comedies We Loved

2011-04-17T07:29:00.000-05:00

With TVLand's annual awards show at hand again with special praise for those programs from television's past eras, it got me thinking about some of the situation comedies from the 1970s and 1980s that I particularly enjoyed…those shows with the terrific ensemble casts that never failed to entertain week after week.

Let me be a little more specific here. I'm not talking about the situation comedies where the main characters are the mother, father, and children with the stories revolving around the trials and tribulations of that family unit.

I'm referring to those sitcoms with a diverse group of characters where the circumstances throw them together, usually in a work setting. One of my favorites of this type of sitcom is WKRP In Cincinnati. And some other favorites from that era are Barney Miller, Night Court, The Bob Newhart Show (the original one where he played the psychiatrist with his group of whacky patients…gotta love Mr. Carlin), and the incomparable MASH. And I would be remiss if I didn't include an import from Great Britain…Fawlty Towers. There were only 12 episodes made and each one is perfection.

I know there are others that I particularly enjoyed, but for some reason they aren't coming to mind at the moment.

Fun shows with marvelous performers portraying carefully crafted characters, each of whom could easily carry an individual episode of the series even if they aren't the primary star of the series, characters who each have their own distinct personalities and functions within the group.

Some of these ensemble characters are constantly befuddled and confused such as Mr. Carlson on WKRP. Others are the voice of reason amid periodic moments of chaos such as the Barney Miller character trying to deal with the many oddballs who file through the squad room of New York's 12th Precinct while keeping his detectives in line. And still other characters are totally outrageous such as WKRP's Dr. Johnny Fever. And then you have marvelous characters so out there that you wonder how they are able to function away from their work environment such as about everyone on Night Court from the totally unorthodox judge to the lecherous prosecutor to the do-gooder defense attorney and the bizarre bailiffs.

And a special nod to the character of Jennifer Marlow from WKRP, the beautiful sexy blonde who is also highly intelligent and makes no effort to hide that intelligence behind the 'dumb blonde' persona—a refreshing change from the normal characterization of the sexy blonde woman at that time.

So many brilliant sitcoms from the 1970s and 1980s that were very successful thanks to a great ensemble cast portraying non-family members who functioned together week after week. And a definite acknowledgement of the writers who created all the odd-ball and slightly off-center characters, giving the bones of the characters to the actors who brought them to life on the screen making them memorable for us.

I know there are several great sitcoms from that time frame that I haven't mentioned. What are some of your favorite sitcoms from the 70s and 80s? Let me know which ones you liked and who your favorite character is.

Outrageous Tax Deductions The IRS Might Actually Allow

2011-04-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again…the tax payer vs. the IRS. The "rules" of the tax game say the tax payer looks for every possible deduction to lessen the tax burden while the IRS tries to close every loophole in order to garner as much income as possible.

And to that end, some of the tax payer team members try to bend those rules a little too far with an occasional surprising result.

Dairy Cows…on a Safari?

The owners of a dairy tried to write off an African safari as a business expense claiming that some of the dairy's promotional efforts included wild animals. Even though the concept of "wild dairy cows" is a bit far-fetched, the IRS actually allowed the deduction.

Beer vs. Whiskey…

A gas station owner gave his customers free beer and took the cost as a tax deduction. An Oklahoma businessman tried to deduct several cases of whiskey he gave to clients as an entertainment expense. After a trip to tax court, it was ruled that the beer deduction was allowed but the whiskey deduction was denied. Logical? Not even close.

Burning Down The House…

A Pittsburgh furniture store owner had tried for years to sell his business without any success. Finally in desperation he hired an arsonist to burn it down and collected $500,000 from his insurance company. But then he took the $10,000 he paid the arsonist and deducted it as a "consulting fee." An IRS audit two years later uncovered the crime and both men went to prison.

Thanks, Doc! Come By For A Swim Anytime…

An emphysema patient was told by his doctor that he needed to start exercising. So, the patient installed a swimming pool at his home and deducted it as a "necessary medical expense." Surprisingly, the IRS allowed the deduction including the cost of various chemicals, cleaning, heating and upkeep.

Did She Tango Her Way Home?

While the IRS said okay to the swimming pool deduction, they denied a deduction for dance lessons a tax payer claimed would improve her varicose veins. The reason? "Not medically necessary." That also covered dance lessons for arthritis and nervous disorders.

No, You Can't Deduct Fido's Babysitting

With approximately 75 million household dogs in the U.S., millions of them are left home alone each day. One tax payer hired someone to come to his house and watch his dog while he was at work then tried to deduct the expense using the tax credit intended for children and legal dependents. The IRS said "no way."

"Here, Kitty-Kitty-Kitty!"

Junkyard owners had a nasty snake and rat problem. In an attempt to combat it, they set out bowls of pet food each night to attract the feral cats that roamed the area. The cats ate the pet food and also the snakes and rats. Since the cats made the business safer for customers and employees, the IRS allowed the deduction for the pet food.

And finally…the best for last.

The Bigger The Better?

An exotic dancer wrote off the cost of breast implants, claiming it was a business expense since bigger breasts equaled bigger tips. The IRS agreed, saying the implants were a stage prop essential to her act.

10 Most Counterfeited Products…

2011-04-03T06:58:00.000-05:00

Our penchant for wanting the most coveted products, the latest fad, the hottest new item, at the lowest price throws the door wide open to unscrupulous operators who supply that demand with counterfeit versions of the real thing.

I recently came across a list of the 10 most counterfeited products sold in the USA, the following figures being for 2009. Statistics for 2010 hadn't been released yet.

Although it's impossible to get an exact number for the total amount of money lost to counterfeit goods each year, sources estimate that businesses lost hundreds of millions, possibly even billions of dollars in sales in the United States alone.

Here's a list of the 10 product categories that lost the most money to counterfeit goods. These figures relate to U.S. goods only, not world-wide statistics.

1) Footwear: Value estimated at $99.8 million
Nearly $100 million worth of counterfeit footwear was seized entering the U.S. in 2009, the greatest amount of any product for the fourth year in a row. 98% of counterfeit footwear originated in China.

2) Consumer Electronics: Value $31.8 million
Products such as cell phones, digital music players, and digital cameras made up that value with most of those seizures originating in China and Hong Kong.

3) Handbags, Wallets, Backpacks: Value $21.5 million
Just walking down a major street in New York City provides the consumer with numerous opportunities to purchase a fake designer handbag. China exported $19.5 million of the $21.5 million seized.

4) Apparel: Value $21.5 million
The dollar amount of counterfeit designer clothing seized was almost identical to the handbags, wallets, and backpacks seized. The amount of the apparel exported from China was also almost identical to handbags, wallets, and backpacks at $17.9 million.

5) Watches/Parts: Value $15.5 million
Even though counterfeit watches are readily available in the U.S., $15.5 million worth of watches and parts were seized in 2009 with the majority of that coming from Hong Kong.

6) Computers/Hardware: Value $12.5 million
Over $12.5 million in computers and computer components was seized coming into the U.S. in 2009—almost double the amount from 2008. It's estimated that up to 10% of all high-tech products sold worldwide are counterfeit.

7) Media: Value $11.1 million
$6 million worth of media, including compact disks and DVDs, was seized entering the country in 2008. That number jumped to just over $11 million in 2009 with approximately half those goods coming from China. Bootleg media is widely available in street markets and on the internet.

8) Pharmaceuticals: Value $11.1 million
Most of these coming into the U.S. originated in China. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals also made up the majority of the counterfeit goods seized coming from India. Although counterfeit drugs present a problem in the U.S., they range from only 1% in developed countries to over 30% of pharmaceuticals in developing countries. Pharmaceuticals are the top commodity presenting "potential safety or security risks."

9) Jewelry: Value $10.5 million
Counterfeit jewelry has a huge market in the U.S., especially with the proliferation of online shopping. One popular means of counterfeit jewelry distribution is through online auction sites. Tiffany & Co. lost a lawsuit recently against eBay regarding the sale of counterfeit Tiffany jewelry on eBay.

10) Toys/Electronic Games: Value $5.5 million
Of the $5.5 million worth of toys and electronic games seized entering the U.S. in 2009, just under $4.9 million came from China. These toys and games have the potential of being extremely dangerous. Some are made with poisonous materials such as lead paint. Electronic toys have been known to overheat and explode.

Other counterfeit products that figure prominently in the world trade market are:

Cigarettes: China's counterfeit cigarette industry is growing at an extraordinary rate. The country now produces 400 billion counterfeit cigarettes each year packaged as several popular brands.

NFL Merchandise: This is one of the most highly counterfeited of all sports goods, especially around Super Bowl time.

Antiques: These are definitely not the easiest counterfeits to detect. Be cautious of overly inexpensive items, furniture pieces that have numerous copies at antique fairs, and supposedly very old pieces that don't have any imperfections.

April Fool's Day—Where Did It Come From?

2011-03-27T06:38:00.000-05:00

The first of April—April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day as it is also known. A holiday that has been celebrated for centuries. But what in the world could possibly be the origins of a day dedicated to pranks and practical jokes?

Those exact origins remain a bit of a mystery, the most widely accepted theory says it dates back to 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar where the new year began on April 1 to the Gregorian calendar where the new year began on January 1 as called for in 1563 by the Council of Trent. People who didn't get the word that the start of the year had moved or refused to accept the change and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the object of jokes and hoaxes. Paper fish would be placed on their back and they were referred to as "poisson d'avri" which means April fish. It symbolized a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

There's also speculation that April Fool's Day was tied to the vernal equinox (first day of spring) in the Northern Hemisphere, a time when Mother Nature fooled people with changing and unpredictable weather.

The celebration spread throughout Britain during the eighteenth century. In Scotland it became a two day event in which people were sent on phony errands and had fake tails or "kick me" signs pinned to their rear ends.

In modern times people have gone to great lengths to stage elaborate pranks. Here's the top ten hoaxes from a list of the best one hundred pranks of all time as judged by notoriety, creativity, and number of people duped.

#1) The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest (1957): The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop.

#2) Sidd Finch (1985): Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. But Sidd Finch had never played the game before. He mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery. This legendary player was the creation of the article's author, George Plimpton.

#3) Instant Color TV (1962): At the time there was only one television channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their television screen.

#4) The Taco Liberty Bell (1996): The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia to express their anger.

#5) San Serriffe (1977): British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic consisting of semi-colon shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. It described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its leader was General Pica. Only a few readers noticed that everything about the islands was named after printer's terminology.

#6) Nixon for President (1992): National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Listeners flooded the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

#7) Alabama Changes the Value of Pi (1998): The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. The article soon made its way onto the internet, then rapidly spread around the world. The Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution and had been written by a physicist.

#8) The Left-Handed Whopper (1998): Burger King published a full page ad in USA Today announcing the introduction on their menu of a "Left-Handed Whopper" for the 32 million left-handed Americans. The ingredients were the same as the original Whopper, but the ad claimed all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. Thousands of customers requested the new sandwich.

#9) Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers (1995): Discover Magazine reported that a highly respected wildlife biologist found a new species in Antarctica—the hotheaded naked ice borer. The creatures had bony plates on their heads. When fed by numerous blood vessels, they could become burning hot thus allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards where the hotheads consumed them. It was theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. To the hotheads, the explorer looked like a penguin.

#10) Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity (1976): British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur and listeners could experience it in their own homes. Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment the planetary alignment occurred they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman reported she and her eleven friends had floated around the room.

Have you ever played an April Fools' Day joke on someone, or had one played on you? Tell us about it.

Vernal Equinox—It's Officially Spring!

2011-03-20T06:56:00.000-05:00

Druid celebration of the vernal equinox

Equinox translates literally to "equal night."

On March 20, 2011, at precisely 7:21pm Eastern Daylight Time the sun crossed directly over the Earth's equator. That moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere announcing the arrival of spring and the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere announcing the arrival of fall. A second equinox will occur on September 23, 2011, at 5:05am Eastern Daylight Time.

The fact that the Earth has distinctive seasons is due to the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth's axis. The Earth receives more sunlight (longer daylight hours) in the summer and less sunlight (fewer daylight hours) in the winter. The tilt of the axis makes the seasons opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. At the north pole summer gives six months of daylight while at the same time the south pole is experiencing six months of darkness. The closer you are to the equator, the daily hours of daylight and darkness become more equal.

The fall and spring equinoxes are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west. Modern astronomy aside, people have recognized the astronomical connection to the season changes for thousands of years. The ancients of various civilizations all over the world built structures that illustrate this—temples dedicated to their various gods that modern man recognize as observatories. Not only the spring and fall equinox days, but also the summer and winter solstice days.

I think it's also interesting to note a connection between the spring equinox and Groundhog Day (another holiday derived from the practices and celebrations of the ancients). If the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2, we have six more weeks of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. And by coincidence that six weeks takes us to within a few days of the spring equinox.

The spring and fall equinoxes are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west. They are also the only days of the year when a person standing on the Equator can see the sun passing directly overhead.

Another equinox oddity: A rule of the calendar keeps spring arriving on March 20 or 21—but sometimes on the 19th. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII established the Gregorian calendar, which most of the world now observes, to account for an equinox inconvenience.

If he hadn't established the new calendar, every 128 years the equinox would have come a full calendar day earlier—eventually putting Easter in chilly midwinter. Before the pope's intervention, the Romans and much of the European world marked time on the Julian calendar.

Instituted by Julius Caesar, the old calendar counted exactly 365.25 days per year, averaged over a four-year cycle. Every four years a leap day helped keep things on track.

It turns out, however, that there are 365.24219 days in an astronomical "tropical" year—defined as the time it takes the sun, as seen from Earth, to make one complete circuit of the sky. Using the Julian calendar, the spring and fall equinoxes and the seasons were arriving 11 minutes earlier each year. By 1500 the vernal equinox had fallen back to March 11.

To fix the problem, the pope decreed that most century years (such as 1700, 1800, and 1900) would not be leap years. But century years divisible by 400, like 2000, would be leap years.

Are we confused yet? :)

With an average duration of 365.2425 days, Gregorian years are now only 27 seconds longer than the length of the tropical year—an error which will allow the gain of one day over a period of about 3,200 years. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, equinoxes migrate through a period that occurs about six hours later from calendar year to calendar year, due to the leap year cycle.

The system resets every leap year, slipping a little bit backward until a non-leap century year leap nudges the equinoxes forward in time once again.

And now we are officially confused? :)

St. Patrick's Day—history, symbols, traditions, green beer, and Irish coffee

2011-03-13T06:41:00.000-05:00

March 17—St. Patrick's religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. A date that falls during the Christian season of Lent. The Irish have observed this date as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the U.S., not in Ireland. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762, (when we were still a British colony). In 1848, several New York Irish aid societies united their parades to form one New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States with over 150,000 participants.

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest celebrations, it has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia.

In modern day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. Until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated pubs be closed on March 17. In 1995, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to promote tourism.

Symbols and Traditions

The shamrock was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland, symbolizing the rebirth of spring. By the seventeenth century, it became a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism.

Music is often associated with St. Patrick's Day and Irish culture in general. Since the ancient days of the Celts, music has always been an important part of Irish life. The Celts had an oral culture where religion, legend, and history were passed from one generation to the next through stories and songs.

Banishing snakes from Ireland has been associated with St. Patrick. A long held belief says St. Patrick once stood on a hilltop and with only a wooden staff managed to drive all the snakes from Ireland. The fact is the island nation of Ireland has never had snakes.

Every year on St. Patrick's Day the traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage is consumed. Cabbage has long been an Irish food, but corned beef only began to be associated with St. Patrick's Day at the turn of the century.

Belief in leprechauns probably comes from Celtic belief in fairies, tiny men and women who could use their magical powers to serve good or evil. Leprechauns are only minor figures in Celtic folklore, cantankerous little men known for their trickery which they often used to protect their fabled treasure. The cheerful, friendly image of the leprechaun is a purely American invention created by Walt Disney in his 1959 movie, Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

There are over 36 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland.

Chicago is famous for a somewhat peculiar annual event: dyeing the Chicago River green. The tradition started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river—enough to keep it green for a week. Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of dye are used, making the river green for only several hours.

Green beer, certainly associated with St. Patrick's Day here in the United States, is NOT an Irish creation. Purists claim that Arthur Guinness would turn over in his grave if anyone attempted to add green food coloring to the traditional Irish brew. Green beer is most likely of American origins.

And Irish coffee? The forerunner of today's Irish coffee was said to have originated at Foynes' port (the precursor to Shannon International Airport on the west coast of Ireland near the town of Limerick) one miserable winter night in the 1940s. Joseph Sheridan added some whiskey to the coffee to warm the arriving American passengers, proclaiming it to be Irish coffee.

A travel writer named Stanton Delaplane brought Irish coffee to the U.S. after drinking it at Shannon Airport. He worked with the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco to develop the perfect drink. The Buena Vista Cafe started serving Irish coffee on November 10, 1952, and continues to serve large quantities of it to this day starting from the time they open in the morning for breakfast until they close at night.

So, here's to everyone celebrating on March 17 whether Irish or not. Enjoy your corned beef and cabbage, green beer, and Irish coffee.

Cats and Dreams and Magic Charms

2011-03-11T05:31:00.000-06:00

My guest blogger today is Icy Snow Blackstone talking about her March 15 release, GYPSY CHARM.

When Lisa Carpenter befriends the gypsy Mrs. Lee, she doesn’t realize what a chain of events she’s set into motion. Taking the old woman back to her camper, she’s introduced to grandsons Isaac and David, two gorgeous hunks complete with golden earrings. They move with the grace of panthers stalking prey, their touch when they shake hands with Lisa leaves her skin tingling. Lisa leaves Mrs. Lee’s with two things: A magic charm, good for one wish, and a bodyguard (though she isn’t aware of that gift) in the form of Mrs. Lee’s black cat, Tomas.

Once Lisa discovers Tomas has followed her home, their association doesn’t begin very auspiciously. The first thing the hapless feline does is get himself mauled by a neighbor’s Great Dane. A scratchy visit to the vet saves the day but then Tomas has to face roommate Annie who has definite ideas concerning stray cats, and one of them involves neutering, so the two definitely don’t hit it off! Nevertheless, Tomas takes his assignment very seriously, and sticks to it, in spite of Annie’s continuous criticism. He’s going to protect Lisa…from over-amorous boyfriends, and anyone else who threatens.

One thing Tomas can’t protect Lisa from is her own dreams…or does he have a hand…uh, paw…in those, too? The night after he arrives, Lisa’s sleep is invaded by the image of a man whose face she can’t see…a man moving with catlike grace…a man over whom the shadow of a giant cat hovers. He knows her; he believes she knows him. He says she’s the only one who can save him…

…who is he?

Only Tomas knows and he isn’t telling!

EXCERPT:

Tomas was going on his self-appointed rounds.

He'd gotten a good look at the layout of the house while Annie washed the pizza dishes, and now—while those two were out of the way—he was making certain the house was secure. Protecting Lisa. Just as Mrs. Lee ordered.

Studying the kitchen door, he gave a cat-nod. Okay, backdoor shut and locked. Trotting briskly into the living room, he looked at the two windows opening onto the front lawn. Hmmm, better check that left one. He scampered over, standing on hind paws to tap the bottom of the sash with a front paw. Good, shut tight. The front door was locked also.

So...that leaves only the bedrooms...

For just a moment, he stood there, looking from Annie’s room with its open door to Lisa’s on the opposite side of the living room. Which one to check first? Tomas didn’t really want to bother with Annie. That neutering remark still rankled. The girl was rude, sharp-tongued, and had made some pretty crude comments. What does she eat for breakfast, anyway? Cactus?

Sauntering cautiously over to the open door, he peeped in.

Empty. Good.

A few steps brought him to the bedroom window. A quick swipe at the curtains knocked them out of the way to reveal the sash in place and locked. So far, so—

“Hey, what are you doing in here?” Annie appeared in the bathroom doorway, toothbrush in hand, mouth smeared with white foam.

Uh-oh! Tomas backed away. He stared at her face, eyes wide. My God, she’s foaming at the mouth!

“What's the matter? Haven’t you ever seen anyone brush her teeth before?” Annie spluttered toothpaste as she spoke. Tomas turned his head, making an odd disjointed little sound sounding suspiciously like laughter. Cat laughter.

“Get out of here!” Picking up a pillow, she swatted at him, and as he galloped for the safety of the living room, tossed it back on the bed and returned to the bathroom.

Okay. Fine. Tomas watched her disappear inside Let someone break in and steal you. See if I care...

...but he knew he’d better not let that happen. Mrs. Lee had entrusted him—not Isaac or David—and for a very good reason, and he’d better not screw up this time. Turning his back, he stalked with feline dignity into Lisa’s room.

Gypsy Charm will be available from Class Act Books on March 15, 2011. http://www.classactbooks.com/

100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters

2011-03-06T06:35:00.001-06:00

I just came across a list of the 100 most memorable female television characters and since March is Women's History Month, this seemed like a good time to share at least the top 10 with you.

Remember, we're talking about memorable characters rather than the focus being on the actresses who played them.

10) Edith Bunker (All In The Family, played by Jean Stapleton)
The kind, compassionate and non-judgmental counterpart to the brusque, bigoted Archie Bunker.

9) Claire Huxtable (The Cosby Show, played by Phylicia Rashad)
As an attorney she could bring home bacon as well as fry it as mother to five kids. Firm but fair. Tough but sensitive and caring.

8) Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars, played by Kristen Bell)
A former popular high school student, she learned that becoming awesome was the best revenge.

7) Carmela Soprano (The Sopranos, played by Edie Falco)
A complicated but always strong, fiercely loyal, and compelling woman who couldn't resolve her guilt over enjoying the ill-gotten lifestyle provided by her husband.

6) Buffy Summers (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar)
She reliably and efficiently kicked bad guy ass while dealing with the normal ups and downs of teenage and 20-something life.

5) Elaine Benes (Seinfield, played by Julia Louis-Drefus)
She always let her male cohorts know that she was the one to be reckoned with.

4) Peggy Olson (Mad Men, played by Elisabeth Moss)
She refused to be relegated to the background in a sexist, male dominated industry.

3) Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy, played by Lucille Ball)
She couldn't stay out of trouble, but it was only because she refused to let anyone keep her in the kitchen and out of the spotlight.

2) Laura Roslin (Battlestar Galactica, played by Mary McDonnell)
A politician thrust into the role of president after most of humanity had been killed, she help lead the survivors to a new home.

1) Mary Richards (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, played by Mary Tyler Moore)
She inspired a whole generation of working girls to go for it all: friendship, love, and a successful career.

There were also several actresses who played more than one character on the top 100 list.

Bea Arthur: She's #45 as Dorothy Zbornak on Golden Girls and also #20 as Maude Findlay on Maude.

Tracy Grandstaff: She's #68 as the voice of Daria Morgendorffer on Bevis And Butt-head and its spinoff Daria.

Valerie Harper: She's #32 as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoff Rhoda.

Katey Sagal: She's #66 as Gemma Teller on Sons Of Anarchy and also #46 as Peg Bundy on Married With Children.

And there were television series that had more than one woman character to make the top 100 list.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: had Willow Rosenberg at #78 played by Alyson Hannigan and also Buffy Summers at #6 played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Cagney And Lacey: had Mary Beth Lacey at #39 played by Tyne Daly and also Christine Cagney at #22 played by Sharon Gless.

Cheers: had Carla Tortelli at #48 played by Rhea Perlman and also Diane Chambers at #30 played by Shelley Long.

Golden Girls: definitely the winner with 4 characters in the top 100 list. Blanche Devereaux at #45 played by Rue McClanahan, Dorothy Zbornak at #40 played by Bea Arthur, Sophia Petrillo at #33 played by Estelle Getty, and Rose Nyland at #18 played by Betty White.

I Love Lucy: had Ethel Mertz at #38 played by Vivian Vance and also Lucy Ricardo at #3 played by Lucille Ball.

Laverne And Shirley: had Shirley Feeney at #42 played by Cindy Williams and also Laverne DeFazio at #28 played by Penny Marshall.

Mad Men: had Joan Harris at #16 played by Christina Hendricks and also Peggy Olson at #4 played by Elisabeth Moss.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: had Rhoda Morgenstern at #32 played by Valerie Harper and also Mary Richards at #1 played by Mary Tyler Moore.

And finally two non-human female characters (in addition to Daria) who made the top 100 list.

Miss Peggy is #26 (The Muppet Show) and was voiced by Frank Oz.
Marge Simpson is #24 (The Simpsons) and was voiced by Julie Kavner

Any women characters in television series that you consider most memorable?

Mardi Gras—Let The Good Times Roll

2011-02-27T05:56:00.000-06:00

This year Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, March 8. The date is tied to Easter which falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox. In the Catholic Church, it's Shrove Tuesday, also known as fat Tuesday.

In the most literal sense, the Mardi Gras celebration is the three days prior to Ash Wednesday which is the start of Lent. It's the last opportunity for partying and indulgence in food and drink. In practice, Mardi Gras…or Carnival, as it is called in many countries…is usually celebrated for a full week before the start of Lent.

Celebrations take place all over the world with the most famous modern day festivities being in New Orleans, Louisiana; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Nice, France; and Cologne, Germany.

Even though Mardi Gras is a Christian festival, it dates back to the pre-Christian spring fertility rites and embodies many of the traditions of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the early Middle Ages, after converting pagan tribes to Christianity, the Catholic Church was still unable to abolish all the ancient traditions. To combat this, the Church ended up taking many ancient feasts and festivals originally celebrated in honor of pagan gods and adapted them to Christian beliefs. An example: today revelers on parade floats still dress as Bacchus, the Greek god of wine.

The first Mardi Gras celebration in the United States was near modern day New Orleans on March 3, 1699, but it was the mid 1800s before parade organizations, known as krewes, came into being. The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold, representing justice, faith, and power.

But what about that popular activity that has become a seemingly integral part of the New Orleans Mardi Gras, much to the chagrin of the festival purists? Women pulling up their shirts and flashing their bare breasts to procure some worthless plastic beads?

Exactly where did this tradition come from?

Well, first of all, it's not really a tradition. It's more along the lines of what has become a traditional activity in the same vein as getting stupid drunk and passing out now seems to fall into that same 'traditional' category. Over the years more and more media attention has been directed toward the drunken revelry that occurs on Bourbon Street which has helped in defining flashing as a traditional part of the Mardi Gras celebration.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point-of-view, flashing in exchange for beads is mostly limited to the New Orleans' French Quarter. And even in the French Quarter, it's an illegal activity. Women flashing their bare breasts run the risk of being arrested.

Maybe flashing is not a true tradition, but you can't deny that it has become a custom. After all, the history of wild Mardi Gras behavior comes from celebrating the last day before Lent—Lent being a time of atonement. And this naturally lends itself to activities of excess and craziness.

And even flashing.

But there is one crazy excess even more daring than the momentary baring of the female breasts known as flashing. And what, you may ask, could that be? And the answer is having clothes painted on your bare skin. There are artists who specialize in this. It may have started as something simple and basic like face painting, but has grown to include full body artistic renderings. At a casual glance, it appears that the person is clothed. But on closer inspection, you discover that's far from the truth. Some of these examples shown below are basic and others are quite elaborate.

Outrageous New Taxes

2011-02-20T07:34:00.001-06:00

It's not April 15 yet, but thoughts are definitely lingering on income tax. And thoughts of income tax time also bring thoughts of all the new taxes that seem to have popped up lately.

It took many years for the country to reach the economic problems we're battling today, a situation that can't possibly be corrected overnight. Local, state, and federal entities from coast to coast are scrambling to find additional revenue in these difficult economic times. Something to lessen the budget deficit while the economy is recovering. And to that end, some new taxes have been enacted on all levels. Many new taxes, especially at the state and local level, are referred to as "fees" in an attempt to lessen the sting of taxation. But a tax by any other name…

Some of these new taxes are already reality and others are still in the debate stage. But to be in the debate stage means someone thought it was a good idea.

Sin taxes have always been popular with lawmakers. Taxing items and activities that are considered vices—smoking, drinking, gambling—seems to be an easy way to raise revenue. But the definition of "sin" seems to be expanding to include new things.

Card Tax: In Alabama, anyone who purchases a deck of cards is charged a card tax of 10 cents. The law states that the tax only applies to a deck containing "no more than 54 cards" which is the standard 52 card deck plus the 2 jokers. So if the manufacturer makes a blunder and your deck contains 55 cards, apparently that gives you a free pass on the tax?

Nudity Tax: Any business in Utah where "nude or partially nude individuals perform any service" are required to pay a 10 percent sales and use tax. The tax is levied against all revenue including admission fees, merchandise, food, drink, and unspecified "services." I wonder what is considered "partially nude" under this law? What about a life guard? Is that a partially nude person providing a service?

Tanning Tax: And for those living in a winter climate who want to maintain that golden tan year round? You'll be paying a 10 percent excise tax on using a tanning salon. This tax is expected to raise a surprising $2.7 billion over 10 years.

Candy Tax: In Kentucky, having a sweet tooth can cost you more than it used to. They now have a new sales tax on any food considered to be candy. However, the definition of what is and what isn't candy is controversial (and confusing). For example, Kentucky's definition says a Reese's Peanut butter Cup is candy, but a Milky Way is not candy. And to add to the confusion, there are seemingly healthy foods that have been classified as candy. If a breakfast bar contains natural or artificial sweeteners along with fruits, nuts or other healthy ingredients, but does not have any flour and does not require refrigeration, it's considered candy and is taxed as such. However, breakfast cereals with the exact same ingredients are not considered candy and not taxed. And the difference between the two under the eyes of that law? I haven't the foggiest idea! In looking at my Nutri-Grain bar, I see that it says Nutri-Grain Cereal Bar rather than breakfast bar. I wonder if that makes a difference in Kentucky?

New York City has come up with some unusual things over the years, but in scrambling to increase revenues they've proposed some truly strange new taxes.

Crash Tax: In January, the New York City Fire Department proposed a new crash tax which stirred up some very heated debate. This proposal calls for a $500 fine for anyone in an accident that requires emergency response vehicles (paramedics, ambulance, fire truck, etc.) at the scene.

Haunted House Tax: If a haunted house attraction includes music and the admission is more than 10 cents, then sales tax is charged. Yet the same New York City with one of the greatest theater districts in the world does not charge tax on theater-goers who see a musical comedy, go to the opera, or attend a chamber music performance. Does taxing a 10 cent admission to a haunted house while ignoring a $100 theater ticket make any sense to you?

Bagel Tax: If you purchase a bagel and take it home to eat, it's tax free. But, if you eat that same bagel at the bagel shop, you have to pay sales tax.

And New York City isn't alone is what seems to be desperation moves to increase revenue.

Death Tax: As of January 2011, it costs extra money to die in King County (Seattle) Washington. The county has levied a $50 fee for reporting a death to the Medical Examiner's Office. If you choose not to report it? Simple…if you don't pay the fee, you don't get the permission and necessary paperwork in order to be buried.

Until the economy recovers and the huge deficit budgets at all levels of government are under control, you can probably expect to see more of these outrageous taxes.

Do you have any new taxes of the absurd variety in your city, county, or state?

Valentine's Day—The Good And The Bad

2011-02-13T07:08:00.000-06:00

Chocolate--The Food Of Love

2011-02-06T05:58:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, the day the chocolate industry happily counts its profits. Certainly other items also come to mind such as cards, flowers, and jewelry. But chocolate reigns supreme for the holiday.

The history of chocolate goes back over two thousand years. Cocoa has long been associated with passion, romance, and love. It's a concept that goes back to the Aztecs with archaeological records indicating that the Mayans were consuming cocoa as long ago as 600 B.C., possibly even earlier than that.

The Aztecs believed it was a source of spiritual wisdom, energy, and sexual power. It was widely served at wedding ceremonies. The ancient civilizations of Central and South America did not know chocolate as we do today. They consumed cocoa as a drink, its naturally bitter taste possibly altered by adding chili peppers to the water and cocoa.

When the Spanish explorers first brought cocoa home with them in 1585, they experimented by mixing it with sugar and vanilla to make a sweeter tasting drink. The result was a type of hot chocolate popular among the upper classes who were the only ones who could afford it. Cocoa was also added to baked goods to give them added flavor. By the first half of the eighteenth century cocoa production had increased and the price fallen so that it became affordable to the general population of Europe and also the European colonies in the New World.

By the nineteenth century things were moving along nicely for those involved in the manufacture of chocolate. In 1828, Conrad van Houton of Holland invented a process to make a refined cocoa powder which increased the output of the usable powder from a given crop of cocoa beans which further lowered the price.

The first chocolate candies as we know them today were invented in the 1860s by Cadbury, a British candy maker, who was also the first to sell them in a heart-shaped box for Valentine's Day.

Another big advance came in 1878 when a Swiss chocolate seller, Daniel Peter, invented a process for making candy out of milk chocolate—a process picked up by Nestle. In 1913 Jules Sechaud, a Swiss chocolate maker, created the first chocolate candy with cream and other fillings and the modern soft centered chocolate candies were born.

And thus chocolate candies joined the ranks of flowers and jewelry in the courtship ritual.

Chocolate, including chocolate candy, is liked by most people, but women tend to have a somewhat greater affinity for it than men. Chocolate is more than food. It not only fills your stomach, it also makes you feel good. Many people believe that chocolate is an aphrodisiac. While it is true that chocolate does contain organic substances which have a physical feel good affect on the body, the amounts are not that great.

Critics claim the benefits of eating chocolate are small compared to the sugar and fat contained in a chocolate bar. However, the best chocolate—dark chocolate with high cocoa butter content rather than milk chocolate—has no added fat with a high percentage of cocoa solids and correspondingly less sugar. Chocolate will never be considered a health food based on its nutritional value, but it is still good for you. It's good for your heart, relieves stress, and makes you feel good. What more could you want?

Chocolate has long been associated with passion, romance, and love. This association goes all the way back to the Aztecs. Valentine's Day is a celebration of romance. Chocolate is both an everyday pleasure and a token of love. Valentine's Day and chocolate make a perfect match. Men have long known in dealing with women that chocolate is always a safe gift. Chocolate is given as a token of love and is equally viable as a peace offering when he has done something to anger his love.

Chocolate—the all purpose taste treat that's good any time of the year.

Are You A Right-Brain Or Left-Brain Thinker?

2011-01-30T06:42:00.000-06:00

The two sides of the human brain have distinct abilities unique to either the right side or left side. An individual's strengths and weaknesses are often based on which side of the brain is dominant. It's always been presented to me as left-brained being the logical, methodical, and pragmatic side and right-brained is the creative side. There have been books written on this phenomenon.

At least that's the way I've always understood right vs. left brain.

The first thought is that writers must be right-brained since writing is a creative effort. And many writers are also involved in other creative endeavors such as various forms of the arts and music. For myself, I do photography. But it seems to me that writers being right-brained is only partly true.

As a writer, I certainly deal with my right brain creative side. But as a writer, I also need my methodical, logical, and pragmatic left brain as part of my creative effort. I would consider research as being methodical left-brained. And then there's the switch over from right brain creative to left brain logical and pragmatic when writers go into edit mode. And that edit mode is necessary in order to take a creative effort and hone it into a marketable effort.

I recently came across a ten question quiz to test whether someone is a right brain thinker or a left brain thinker. Not sure I agree with all the conclusions, but I found it interesting.

Are you ready?

1) Are you better at math and science than art and literature?

If your answer is YES: People who are left-brained thinkers (logic) are often better at math and science over art and literature.
If your answer is NO: People who are right-brained thinkers (creative) are usually better at art and literature than math and science.

2) Do you love playing sports outdoors over reading indoors?

If your answer is YES: Right-brain thinkers (creative) enjoy the great outdoors and athletics.
If your answer is NO: People who are left-brained (logic) usually prefer staying indoors and reading.

3) Do you prefer verbal communication over physical communication?

If your answer is YES: Left-brain thinkers (logic) love to work things out by talking.
If your answer is NO: Right-brain thinkers (creative) believe actions speak louder than words.

4) Would you rather draw pictures freehand instead of putting together a model airplane?

If your answer is YES: Those who are right-brained (creative) are not fans of tremendous structure and prefer having some creativity at work.
If your answer is NO: Those who are left-brained (logic) are in need of structure and prefer having specific guidelines at work.

5) Do you like being in groups more than being alone?

If your answer is YES: Group oriented people are usually right-brained (creative).
If your answer is NO: Loners are usually left-brained (logic).

6) When given instructions, are lots of pictures easier to understand than text?

If your answer is YES: Right-brained (creative) people love picture explanations.
If your answer is NO: Left-brained (logic) people much prefer text explanations.

7) Have you noticed that you're better at providing the details and necessary information for a project than coming up with the initial idea?

If your answer is YES: Left-brained (logic) are more into processing information and details than being involved in the creative process.
If your answer is NO: Right-brained (creative) are more interested in the initial creative process rather than the information gathering.

8) Do you need a quiet environment when you are working?

If your answer is YES: Left-brain (logic) people usually need quiet environments.
If your answer is NO: Right-brain (creative) people don't mind a bustling background as they work.

9) Would you enjoy helping someone solve a relationship problem more than a math problem?

If your answer is YES: Solving relationship problems is a natural for right-brain thinkers (creative).
If your answer is NO: Solving math and technical problems is right up the alley of the left-brained (logic).

10) If you were a writer, would you prefer to write non-fiction books instead of fiction?

If your answer is YES: The left-brained (logic) are obsessed with details and truth.
If your answer is NO: The right-brained (creative) are more imaginative.

That's the end of the quiz. As I said, I'm not sure I agree with all the conclusions. I had a friend who was totally disorganized in everything and would continually justify it by saying she was right-brained so she didn't relate to anything else. I think we all need a little left-brained common sense in our lives.

Do any of you have hobbies or other outlets where you use your right-brained creativity (other than writing)? Left-brained pragmatic day jobs demanding a right-brained creative outlet as balance?

Useless Information -- Part 3 of 3

2011-01-23T06:55:00.001-06:00

This is the final week of my three trivia blogs featuring bits and pieces from The Book Of Useless Information, an official publication of The Useless Information Society with a copyright of 2006. I'm picking some items at random from the last few sections of the book. And there is one fact that jumped out at me as being absolutely wrong…I have attributed it to a typo that was missed by an editor rather than misinformation. I'll share this with you in a little while.

So…I'll pick up here where I left off last week.

AMAZING DISCOVERIES: Construction workers' hard hats were invented and used in the construction of Hoover Dam in 1933. Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, was afraid of the dark. A normal raindrop falls at about seven miles an hour. An inch of snow falling evenly on one acre of ground is equivalent to about 2,715 gallons of water. A cubic mile of fog is made up of less than a gallon of water. Meteorologists claim they're right 85 percent of the time. Buzz Aldrin's mother's maiden name was Moon. The Apollo 11 had only twenty seconds of fuel left when it landed. A manned rocket can reach the moon in less time than it took a stagecoach to travel the length of England. Stars come in different colors—hot stars give off blue light and the cooler ones give off red light. Earth is traveling through space at 660,000 miles per hour. By weight, the sun is 70 percent hydrogen, 28 percent helium, 1.5 percent carbon-nitrogen-oxygen, and 0.5 percent all other elements. A bolt of lightning can strike the earth with the equivalent of one hundred million volts and generate temperatures five times hotter than those found on the sun's surface. In 1949 Popular Mechanics said computers of the future would weigh no more than five tons. The shortest commercial intercontinental flight in the world is from Gibraltar in Europe to Tangier in Africa, a distance of thirty-four miles and flight time of twenty minutes. A large flawless emerald is worth more than a similarly large flawless diamond. A jiffy is an actual unit of time the equivalent of one-hundredth of a second.

WILD KINGDOM: A baby blue whale is twenty-five feet long at birth. In 1859 twenty-four rabbits were released in Australia and within six years the population grew to two million. Human beings and the two-toed sloth are the only land animals that typically mate face to face. An estimated 80 percent of all creatures on Earth have six legs. A square mile of fertile earth has thirty-two million earthworms in it. The original name for butterfly was the flutterby. Grasshoppers have white blood. A single strand from the golden spider's web is as strong as a steel wire of the same size. Contrary to common belief, reptiles are never slimy, their scales have few glands and are usually silky to the touch. The gecko lizard can run on the ceiling without falling because its toes have flaps of skin that act like suction cups. Alligators cannot move backward. The only continent without reptiles or snakes is Antarctica. A group of frogs is called an army. A group of kangaroos is called a mob. Male monkeys lose the hair on their heads in the same manner men do. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up at the sky. Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Time and erosion have erased 99 percent of all dinosaur footprints. Reindeer like to eat bananas. Moose have very poor vision, some have even tried to mate with cars. The night vision of tigers is six times better than that of humans. Jaguars are scared of dogs. Walking catfish of Florida can stay out of the water for eighty days. Sharks' fossil records date back more than twice as far as those of the dinosaurs. Sea otters have the world's densest fur—a million hairs per square inch.

STATISTICS: It would take more than 150 years to drive a car to the sun. More than 10 percent of all the salt produced annually in the world is used to de-ice American roads. Most fatal car accidents happen on a Saturday. The world record for carrying a milk bottle on your head is twenty-four miles. You're more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider. About 6 percent of murdered American men are killed by either their wife or girlfriend…or their wife who caught them with their girlfriend. Experienced waitresses say that married men tip better than unmarried men. You are more likely to get attacked by a cow than a shark.

And on the last page of the book it says: approximately 97 percent of all statistics are made up. :)

And that error I said I caught? It was in the first section of HALL OF FAME. It said, "In 1812, after being shot in the chest, Theodore Roosevelt finished a speech he was delivering before he accepted any medical help." The incident is true, but Teddy Roosevelt wasn't even born until 1858. The reality is that it happened on October 14, 1912. As I said, certainly a typo that was missed in the editorial process.

Useless Information -- Part 2 of 3

2011-01-16T08:19:00.000-06:00

This is week two of my three weeks of trivia blogs featuring bits and pieces from The Book Of Useless Information, an official publication of The Useless Information Society with a copyright of 2006. I don't personally vouch for any of these facts as I have not verified them. :)

So…I'll pick up here where I left off last week with some samplings.

AROUND THE HOUSE: A deck of cards should be shuffled seven times to properly play with them. Playing cards in India are round. On the new U.S. $100 bill, the time on the clock tower of Independence Hall is 4:10. The Australian $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 notes are made of plastic. More people use blue toothbrushes than red ones. Alaska has more outhouses than any other state. There are more Barbie dolls in Italy than there are Canadians in Canada. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

HISTORY'S MYSTERIES: A Virginia law requires all bathtubs to be kept in the yard, not inside the house. Persia had a pony express many years before Christ where riders delivered mail across Asia Minor. Ancient Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats. When some mummies were unwrapped the bandages were a total of 1.5 miles in length. In ancient Greece, women counted their age from the day they were married. The Roman goddess of sorcery, hounds, and the crossroads is named Trivia. The Chinese ideogram for trouble depicts two women living under one roof. On July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber airplane crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building. Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States in 1789. In 1890 New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote. You could buy insurance against going to hell in London in the 1700s.

ROAM IF YOU WANT TO: The Frankford Avenue Bridge built in 1697 in Philadelphia crosses Pennypack Creek and is the oldest U.S. bridge in continuous use. In Washington, D.C., no building can be built taller than the Washington Monument. There are more than six hundred rooms in Buckingham Palace. Los Angeles' full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula. Harvard uses Yale brand locks on their buildings and Yale used Best brand locks. It is forbidden to fly aircraft over the Taj Mahal. Central Park opened in 1876 and is nearly twice the size of the country of Monaco. The San Diego Zoo has the largest collection of animals in the world.

HOLY MATTERS: The color of mourning in Turkey is violet, while in most Muslim countries and China it's white. In the early eighteenth century 2/3 of Portugal was owned by the Church. The youngest pope was eleven years old. Snow angels originated from medieval Jewish mystics who practiced rolling in the snow to purge themselves of evil urges.

BUSINESS RELATIONS: Japan's currency is the most difficult to counterfeit. The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing more than a million people. The sale of vodka makes up ten percent of Russian government income. In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

THE SPORTING GOODS: A baseball has exactly 108 stitches. Bank robber John Dillinger played professional baseball. In 1936 American track star Jesse Owens beat a racehorse over a one hundred yard course, and the horse was given a head start. It takes three thousand cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs. Before 1850 golf balls were made of leather and stuffed with feathers. Boxing is considered the easiest sport for gamblers to fix. Tug-of-war was an Olympic event between 1900 and 1920. Professional hockey players skate at an average speed of 20 – 25 miles per hour. Karate originated in India.

Next week is the third and final week of my trivia blogs. Make sure to stop by and see what other bits of useless information I have for you.

Useless Information--Part 1 of 3

2011-01-09T07:40:00.000-06:00

Part one of three

While looking for something else, I came cross a book I had forgotten about…a book I purchased about four years ago—The Book Of Useless Information, an official publication of The Useless Information Society. It has a 2006 copyright date.

I'm a long time (as well as big time) trivia fan, so I stopped what I was doing and started randomly flipping through the book. Half an hour later I was still standing in front of the bookcase thumbing through the pages.

Since I hadn't written today's blog yet, I decided to share some of this useless information with you. The contents of the book are broken down into thirteen categories which I'm going to break up into three blogs, continuing next two weeks. I'll share a few items from each category.

HALL OF FAME: Thomas Jefferson anonymously submitted design plans for the White House, they were rejected. Andrew Jackson was the only president to believe that the world is flat. James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other—simultaneously. Gerald Ford was once a male model. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer. Adolph Hitler was Time magazine's Man Of The Year in 1938. The shortest British monarch was Charles I, who was four-feet nine-inches tall. When young and impoverished, Pablo Picasso kept warm by burning his own paintings. Christopher Columbus had blond hair.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT: Tom Hanks is related to Abraham Lincoln. Tommy Lee Jones and Vice President Al Gore were freshmen roommates at Harvard. Elizabeth Taylor appeared on the cover of Life magazine more than anyone else. Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest. In high school, Robin Williams was voted the least likely to succeed. Mick Jagger attended the London School of Economics for two years. Parker Brothers prints about $50 billion worth of Monopoly money in a year, more than issued annually by the U.S. Government. Kermit the Frog is left-handed. Peanuts is the world's most read comic strip. Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots. Alfred Hitchcock never won an Academy Award for directing.

THE LITERARY WORLD: During his entire lifetime Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick only sold fifty copies. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein at the age of nineteen. Tom Sawyer was the first novel written on a typewriter. Arthur Conan Doyle never had Sherlock Holmes say "Elementary, my dear Watson." The word cop came from the English term "Constable on Patrol." The most used letter in the English language is E with Q being the least used. The oldest word in the English language is town. The only fifteen letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable. Bookkeeper is the only word in the English language with three consecutive double letters. In England in the 1880s, pants was considered a dirty word. Polish is the only word in the English language that, when capitalized, is changed from a noun or a verb to a nationality.

ON THE MENU: On average, there are 178 sesame seeds on each McDonald's Big Mac bun. Coca-Cola was originally green. A full seven percent of the Irish barley crop goes to the production of Guinness beer. The first man to distill bourbon whiskey was a Baptist preacher in 1789. Almonds are a member of the peach family. You use more calories eating celery than there are in celery itself. The oldest known vegetable is the pea. Tomatoes and cucumbers are fruits. There is no such thing as blue food, even blueberries are purple. The only food that does not spoil is honey.

This is only a small sampling of the first four sections of the book. Anyone have any interesting trivia bits that fall within these four categories?

Next week I'll continue with some samples from the second group of four sections. And the week after that I'll do the final five sections.

In 2010 We Said Goodbye To...

2011-01-02T06:51:00.001-06:00

We lost many celebrities in 2010—some expected, others not really a surprise, and some a true shock. A couple of my personal favorites whose talent is no longer with us are Peter Graves and Leslie Nielsen.

But in addition to people, many companies and products bit the dust this past year. Here's a list of twelve that departed from our daily life during 2010. I came across this list, certainly not a complete list of products and companies that we waved goodbye to this past year, but an interesting cross-section of those who called it quits.

AIR AMERICA: Talk radio with a decidedly progressive, liberal agenda in a forum usually associated with and dominated by conservatives. It went dark in January 2010.

PONTIAC, MERCURY, AND HUMMER: With the downward spiral of American auto manufacturers, several car brands were laid to rest. General Motors' Pontiac line began in 1926 with its most famous car being the GTO. Mercury was made by Ford and was basically the same as several of Ford's models with some added extras and was priced between the most affordable Ford and the Ford's luxury Lincoln line. Hummer was originally a military vehicle. GM bought the rights to the name and produced a street legal vehicle which they retired in 2010 as part of their reorganization.

U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT: When started in 1933, the news magazine came out weekly. It eventually became a monthly publication. And now they have ceased publication of a paper edition and have become an online publication with the occasional special edition in print.

MR. GOODWRENCH: Starting in 1974, Mr. Goodwrench became the representation of quality service for all brands manufactured by General Motors. This year GM retired Mr. Goodwrench in order to concentrate on service tied to each specific brand.

THE SONY WALKMAN: Back in the dark ages before there were iPods, smartphones, and MP3 players, Sony provided music lovers with a means of listing to their favorite music wherever they wanted by means of the Walkman cassette portable player which also started the headphone revolution. In 2010, Sony made its last Walkman.

McRIB SANDWICH: As it has done on previous occasions, most recently in October 2010, McDonald's gives the public a taste of the menu item just long enough for it to become popular, then pulls it off the menu. How much longer is this yo-yo act going to last?

BUELL MOTORCYCLES: This small company made motorcycles that appealed to the sport-racing crown. They were purchased by Harley-Davidson in 2003 to fill a niche that their road cruisers over-looked. In 2010, Harley-Davidson was forced to shelve the line.

MICROSOFT KIN: In spite of its computer industry dominance, Microsoft hasn't had much success in selling its own manufactured hardware. It designed its own phone, sold through Verizon and oddly not using their own new Windows Phone 7 software. With poor reviews and sales lagging far behind Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android program, the company withdrew the Kin from the market after only a few weeks.

WINDOWS XP: When Microsoft launched the Vista operating system, most companies decided to stick with Windows XP. Microsoft provided support for the Windows XP system and continued to sell it for use in low price computers until late 2010. Even though they will continue to support XP, it's no longer available for sale.

B. DALTON BOOKSTORES: At one time B. Dalton had 798 stores in shopping malls and other locations across the country. The chain was owned by Barnes & Noble at the time it was shut down.

MOVIE GALLERY: Renting a movie, taking it home to watch, and returning it to the store…a competitor of Blockbuster Video in the days before Netflix and streaming video. Movie Gallery, at one time having more than 4,500 outlets, also owned Hollywood Video. In 2010 the company filed for bankruptcy for the second time and closed all of its locations.

GOOGLE NEXUS ONE: Google has been successful with many bold new ideas. However, their venture into the smartphone arena with their Nexus One was a major flop. The phone itself simply mimicked other smartphones. Google's innovation was the marketing. They attempted to sell the phones directly to consumers at full cost rather than going through a cell phone provider. The full price of the phone all at once rather than over a two year contract period put off many customers and direct sale was discontinued after a few months.

Any particular favorite of yours that's no longer available?

New Year's Celebrations

2010-12-26T09:32:00.000-06:00

New Year's Day is this coming Saturday…welcome to 2011. This has become a traditional time of celebration. We party on New Year's Eve and celebrate the moment the clock strikes midnight signaling the beginning of a new year.

And, of course, when the year 2000 arrived we celebrated for twenty-four hours as each time zone around the earth welcomed the new millennium on live television broadcasts.

But why and how did the New Year's celebrations become part of our annual routine? The earliest recorded account of a celebration in honor of the new year dates back four thousand years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox announced the arrival of the new year. They celebrated this spring time event with a massive 11 day religious festival called Akitu. It was during this time that a new king was crowned or the current ruler's mandate renewed.

Throughout antiquity, civilizations around the world developed more sophisticated calendars with the first day of the year associated with an agricultural or astronomical event. For example, in Egypt the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile which coincided with the rising of the star Sirius. In China, the new year occurred with the second new moon after the winter solstice…a day that is still celebrated.

The early Roman calendar had 10 months and 304 days with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox. Tradition holds that it was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C. Numa Pompilius, a later king, is credited with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius. Over the ensuing centuries, the Roman calendar grew out of sync with the sun. In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar used today by most countries.

As part of his reform, Julius Caesar declared January 1 as the first day of the year and Romans celebrated by exchanging gifts, decorating their homes, and attending raucous parties. In medieval Europe, Christian leaders temporarily replaced January 1 as the first day of the year with days carrying more religious significance, such as December 25 as the anniversary of Christ's birth and March 25 as the Feast of the Annunciation. It was Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 who re-established January 1 as New Year's Day.

In many countries, New Year's celebrations begin on New Year's Eve and continue into the early hours of January 1st. These celebrations often include specific foods that are said to bring good luck for the coming year—grapes in Spain, round fruits in the Philippines, suckling pig in Austria, soba noodles in Japan, rice pudding in Norway, and black-eyed peas in the southern United States. Other customs that are common worldwide include making new year resolutions (a practice started by the Babylonians) and watching fireworks displays.

In the United States, the most famous New Year's tradition is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City's Times Square. This event, first instituted in 1906, occurs at the stroke of midnight. The original giant ball was made of iron and wood weighing 400 pounds. Today's giant ball is a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing nearly 12,000 pounds.

So, however you celebrate the arrival of the new year…whether you go out to a party, have family or a few friends to your home, or simply curl up by a cozy fire and watch the festivities in Times Square…I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.

And peace on earth.

Ancient Roots Of The Christmas Celebration

2010-12-19T06:32:00.001-06:00

This Saturday is December 25th, Christmas Day. Where did December 25 as a day of celebration originate?

Early Europeans celebrated light in the darkest days of winter. They rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to extended hours of sunlight.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from the Winter Solstice on December 21 through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs and set them on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out which could be as long as twelve days.

In Germany, people honored the pagan god Odin during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Odin. They believed he made night flights through the sky to observe his people and then decide who would prosper or perish.

In Rome, where winters weren't as harsh as in the far north, Saturnalia was celebrated beginning the week before winter solstice and continuing for a full month. It was a hedonistic time with lots of food and drink. For that month the social order was turned upside down with slaves becoming masters and peasants in charge of the city. Business and schools were closed so everyone could join in.

Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, on December 25 members of the upper classes celebrated the birthday of Mithras, the god of the unconquerable sun.

It wasn't until the fourth century that Christian church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. The Puritans denied the legitimacy of the celebration, pointing out that the Bible does not mention a date for his birth. Pope Julius I chose December 25. The common belief is that the church chose the date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia.

By the Middle Ages, Christianity had mostly replaced pagan religion. Christmas was celebrated by attending church then celebrating in a drunken carnival type of atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras celebration.

In the early seventeenth century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. In 1645, Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces gained control in England and vowed to do away with decadence. As part of their agenda, they cancelled Christmas. When Charles II regained the throne, he restored the holiday.

The pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. In fact, from 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston. In contrast, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all in the Jamestown settlement where they also enjoyed eggnog, first made in the United States in 1607 in the Jamestown settlement.

Christmas wasn't a holiday in early America until June 26, 1870, when Congress declared it a federal holiday.

One of our Christmas traditions is kissing when standing under mistletoe. But why do people kiss under the mistletoe? After all, mistletoe is a parasitic plant you find in the forest attached to and gaining its sustenance from its host tree. The entire plant is poisonous, especially the berries which are extremely toxic. Ingesting the berries causes acute stomach and intestinal pains, diarrhea, weak pulse, mental disturbances, and the collapse of blood vessels. Death has occurred within ten hours after eating the berries. Not exactly what first comes to mind when you think of kissing. :)

The tradition of linking mistletoe and kissing started in Europe. According to Norse mythology, Baldur, the god of peace, was shot and killed by an arrow made of mistletoe. After the other gods brought him back to life, Frigga, the goddess of love, transformed mistletoe into a symbol of love and peace. And to this day, everyone who passes under the mistletoe must receive a kiss.

Any on that note, I'll close this week's blog.

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season, whatever beliefs you follow. And most of all—Peace On Earth.

Lucky Locations To Visit

2010-12-12T05:53:00.000-06:00

Lots of things claim to generate good fortune for the lucky holder—a found penny, a four-leaf clover, and a rabbit's foot, although apparently not all that lucky for the poor rabbit. :)

There are also various locations around the world that are said to be lucky. Here's a smattering of lucky locations to visit.

The Blarney Stone in Cork, Ireland: Found at the top of Blarney Castle (a trek up old steep stone steps that provides quite a workout before you get near the famous stone), it has long been held that anyone who kisses the Blarney Stone will be blessed with the gift of great eloquence and powers of persuasion. BUT, as someone who has been there…well, let's just say that it's not the most sanitary of activities. :)

Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois: In Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery is the tomb of our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. And at that tomb is a large sculpture by Gutzon Borglum, the man responsible for Mt. Rushmore. For many years, visitors have rubbed Lincoln's nose for good luck.

Winged Figures of the Republic, Nevada: These thirty-foot-tall Art Deco bronze sculptures are on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam, overlooking the canyon. Rubbing their toes is said to bless you with good luck.

St. John of Nepomuk in Prague, Czech Republic: Although there are more than two dozen sculptures along the famed Charles Bridge, only one of them is said to be lucky. Rubbing the plaque on the statue of St.John of Nepomuk, Archbishop of Prague when he was tortured and thrown in the river in 1393, is supposed to be lucky. Hopefully luckier than the location was for the Archbishop. :)

Everard 't Serclaes in Brussels, Belgium: In 1356, Everard 't Serclaes, a resident of Brussels, saved his city from an attack by the Flemish. A relief likeness of him is displayed near the Grand Place. Rubbing it brings good luck.

Schoner Brunnen fountain in Nuremburg, Germany: A seamless brass ring set into one of the railings surrounding Schoner Brunnen fountain is attributed with the power to make wishes come true, but only if you turn the ring three times. That reminds me of my childhood and grabbinig for the brass ring on the merry-go-round at Santa Monica Pier.

Laughing Buddha in Hangzhou, China: The concept of patting a Buddha's belly for luck started in Hangzhou's Lingyin Temple which has been around since 328 AD. The temple has thousands of Buddhas, but the one visitors love to see is the Laughing Buddha. Patting his belly will bring wealth, good luck, and prosperity.

Bull Mosaic in Milan, Italy: Being a bull in Spain does not guarantee you a long or even comfortable life. But there's one bull in Italy who really has it tough. The Bull Mosaic on the floor of Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is subjected to particularly rough treatment. It's said to be good luck if you place your heel on the bull's testicles and spin around in a circle. All I can say is ouch!

On next week's blog, the last Sunday before Christmas, I'll be talking about the ancient origins of the Christmas holiday.

Crazy Things Confiscated By Customs Agents

2010-12-05T07:56:00.000-06:00

These days just getting on an airplane is a cause for nervous tension. There's the latest TSA regulations about full body scanners and pat-downs. And that's in addition to long lines at security check points and what seems to be a constantly changing list of what you can and can't take on the plane. And there's the ever increasing list of items and services that were once included as part of your air fare but are now additional fees charged by the airlines. (What? You mean you want to take luggage with you on your two week vacation?) All-in-all, flying is not the fun experience it used to be.

And that's just on domestic flights. You add to that the need to clear customs on international flights, both entering a foreign country and coming home, and it's enough to make your head spin.

There's certainly been enough written about the TSA restrictions and requirements, so I won't dwell on them. But I did find an interesting list of contraband seized by Customs agents around the world…a bit more than trying to sneak in with an extra bottle of Merlot hidden in your suitcase.

And here is that list.

10) Shoes Stuffed With Heroin: Smugglers might be a scheming lot, but that doesn't mean they always use their brains. In October 2010, a 32 year old US citizen and her younger brother disembarked from a Caribbean cruise and were tagged by Customs for a secondary screening process. When they opened the woman's luggage they found 15 pairs of 1980s style men's shoes…definitely suspicious items for a woman to be bringing back from the Caribbean. They discovered over 6 kilos of heroin duct taped inside the shoes.

9) Human Skulls: And we're not talking about creepy Halloween decorations. In September 2010, two American tourists had 6 human skulls confiscated from their luggage at the Athens International Airport in Greece. They had purchased the 6 skulls at a souvenir shop on the island of Mykonos and thought they were fake. They were charged with desecrating the dead.

8) Tiger Cub: The 3 month old tiger cub was found sedated and hidden among stuffed animal tigers inside a woman's luggage at Bangkok International Airport when the oversize suitcase went through an X-ray machine. The woman was headed to Iran where the tiger cub could have brought in more than $3,000 on the black market. The cub was sent to a wildlife conservation center and the woman faced wildlife smuggling charges and fines.

7) Fake $100,000 Bills: In 2009, agents confiscated two $100,000 counterfeit bills from a passenger arriving at New York's JFK Airport from Seoul. In 1934, rare $100,000 bills were printed to be circulated between the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Banks. The bills were never put into general circulation. The man claimed to have found the bills in an old book belonging to his father. The bills were determined to be counterfeit and turned over to the Secret Service. The largest denomination bill printed in the United States today (and for many years) is the $100 bill. It's possible that some larger demonination bills might still be out there and are legal tender, but they are taken out of circulation whenever discovered.

6) Cocaine Cast: A leg in a cast may garner some sympathy, but it didn't work for a Chilean passenger arriving at the Barcelona, Spain, airport from Santiago. Customs agents decided to spray the cast with a chemical that turns bright blue when it comes in contact with cocaine. And it did.

5) Bear Paws: And I'm not talking about the bear claw pastry, either. In October 2010, a dozen genuine furry bear paws were confiscated from a Vietnam man's luggage in Ho Chi Minh City Airport upon his return from Hong Kong. Bear paw soup is considered a delicacy.

4) Snakes and Lizards: You're familiar with the movie, Snakes On A Plane? Well, in 2009 a would be smuggler taped 14 snakes and 10 lizards onto his body in an attempt to sneak them into Norway. Oddly enough, it was a tarantula spotted in his luggage that led to a full body search.

3) Bonytongue Fish: When an airline loses your luggage, it's an inconvenience. However, it's even worse when you're smuggling fish in your suitcases. In 2009 a man returning from Malaysia to his home in Queens, New York City, unfortunately did not have his luggage arrive on the same flight. The next day a Customs agent doing random checks on lost luggage discovered 16 fish packed in individual plastic bags and cushioned with Styrofoam. Considered good luck charms in Asian cultures, they sell for $5,000 to $10,000 apiece.

2) Rhinoceros Horns: Ireland is not where you'd expect to find pieces of safari animals. Over a period of time in late 2009 and 2010, three Irish passengers were busted at Shannon Airport for smuggling 10 rhinoceros horns valued at approximately 500,000 Euros, which at today's (Dec. 4) exchange rate is $670,700. Rhino horns are often ground down and used as a prized ingredient in Chinese medicine.

1) Snake Wine: A glass of snake wine might not have the same appeal as a nice Merlot. However, in Southeast Asian countries, a whole snake soaking in alcohol is a specialty. In May 2009, a routine Customs inspection in Miami revealed a cobra and other poisonous snakes packed into a jar of liquid in an express mail package from Thailand. Snakes On A Plane part 2?

It makes that additional bottle of Merlot wrapped inside the sweater and stuffed into the corner of your suitcase not seem as bad. :)

Lame Remakes Of Great Television Shows

2010-11-28T06:54:00.000-06:00

As is blatantly obvious, television quite often looks to the past when searching for new series ideas. This situation occurs for two different reasons.

1) The network has a current hit and wants to capitalize on that popularity by creating a spinoff.

Spinoffs have long been a popular and successful (for the most part) tactic for the networks. Some shows have been so finely crafted that they were the genesis of several spinoffs. For example, ALL IN THE FAMILY gave us THE JEFFERSONS, MAUDE, and GOOD TIMES. THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW gave us LOU GRANT, RHODA, and PHYLLIS. And we can't overlook the entire LAW AND ORDER franchise with the most recent being LAW AND ORDER LOS ANGELES and the highly successful CSI franchise. And, of course, JAG begat NCIS which begat NCIS LOS ANGELES

2) The network is looking for a ratings boost so it turns to hit series from the past and hopes that reviving them will be a ratings winner.

And in that department they have come up with some significant blunders when trying to capture that elusive lightning in the bottle for the second time. Far more remakes have been total disasters rather than a once again successful television series.

One remake that seems to be paying off for the network and one I'm enjoying is HAWAII 5-0. They've updated the characters and given them more interesting backgrounds and interactions than the original but they were smart enough to keep the original theme song and the style of the opening main titles. A good mix of the old and comfortable along with the new.

But let's take a look at some remakes that just didn't work at all.

DRAGNET (2003): Law and Order kingpin, Dick Wolf, tried to bring back Jack Webb's classic cop drama. It wasn't a bad idea. The original Jack Webb series had a very specific style that was totally Jack Webb's vision right down to the almost wooden dialogue. "Just the facts, Ma'am." It was an iconic style everyone knew. The remake, however, fell victim to the decision by committee mentality of constant tinkering by TV executives and it became a jumble of needless characters.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE (2002): An attempt by UPN to remake one of the most creative and interesting series on television was a colossal failure. Without the guiding hand and creative genius of Rod Serling, including his iconic physical presence as the host introducing each episode, it was a dismal failure. They even went so far as to replace those great musical notes that made up the theme song with an updated version. All you need to hear is "do do do do" for the first eight notes and the theme song is not only recognized but its message is clear.

GET SMART (1995): Fox brought back the classic spy spoof comedy originally created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. And they brought it back with the original cast and it still failed. This remake picked up where the original left off with Maxwell Smart bumbling his way to the top of Control as the chief. But instead of letting Don Adams continue with the role that made him famous, the secret agent work was handled by his nerdy son which made the whole series feel like a lukewarm second rate attempt.

THE PRISONER (2009): The original classic British series starred Patrick McGoohan as Number six in The Village…a place that seemed to shift and change before our eyes and before the eyes of the main character so that not believing what you're seeing and hearing was the only rule that seemed to be true. The original had a subtext that said it never really took itself seriously. The remake had a bigger budget, larger cast, and better production values but somewhere in there it lost the feeling of the original.

THE FUGITIVE (2000): CBS thought they could not only cash in on the highly successful original series, but also the hit movie starring Harrison Ford. But with a series and also a movie, everything about THE FUGITIVE was known. Who the characters were, their motives, and even the outcome. They didn't try to reinvent the wheel, they pretty much exactly copied it. No surprises, no edge of the seat action, nothing to hold the audience's interest.

FAWLTY TOWERS (every remake ever attempted): Don't screw around with perfection! There were only twelve episodes made of John Cleese's FAWLTY TOWERS and each one was the epitome of what a sitcom should be—brilliant writing, marvelous characters brought to life by an excellent cast. There have been so many attempts to capture the success of this British sitcom with one remake after another in several countries. Even here in the U.S. we gave it three attempts before finally realizing that it can't be done.

With successful American translations of British sitcoms (All In The Family from the British Till Death Do Us Part, Sanford And Son from the British Steptoe And Son, and Three's Company from the British Man About The House), we obviously thought we could strike gold again. The first one starred Harvey Korman and Betty White and never got beyond the pilot stage. The second one tried a switch by putting Bea Author in a female Basil Fawlty role and it was cancelled after one season. The third attempt starred John Larroquette in a show that copied the original plots but not the characters. Another failure. The original FAWLTY TOWERS was done in the late 1970s and is as funny today as it was then. I have the twelve episodes on DVD and each time I see them I break up even though I know what's coming.

Are there any television remakes that you found particularly disappointing?

Those Naughty Pilgrims

2010-11-21T06:40:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is this week. Time to turn our thoughts to turkey and dressing, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. The holiday also conjurs up images of the pilgrims at the dinner table looking all prim and proper. But what about those pious pilgrims? As with so much in life, there's the façade and then there's the reality. :)

They certainly have a reputation for being a rigid and humorless group. But there are a few surprises to be found. Even though drunkenness was discouraged, beer was accepted as a drink by men, women, and children. The daily ration on the Mayflower was a gallon a day for each individual. Even sex was not taboo under the right circumstances. They had a matter-of-fact attitude about sex as long as it was between a married couple. It's when sex strayed from being the exclusive right between a married couple that the stories get interesting.

Studies by a group of anthropologists at the University of Virginia found that the pilgrims spent a great deal of time thinking about how to punish those with impure thoughts and actions. Studies also discovered that in 11 percent of the marriages at Plymouth Colony the bride was already pregnant. The same study estimates that as many as 50 percent of the pilgrims engaged in premarital sex. Definitely not an image that fits the staid pilgrims.

According to the Mayflower Compact, the colony was to establish laws based on Biblical teachings "for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith." The Old Testament book of Leviticus was the basis for most of their laws. Adultery? Death. A man has sex with his daughter-in-law? Death. Sodomy? Death. Bestiality? Death. Are you beginning to see a pattern? :)

But interestingly, the pilgrims did not typically enforce the death penalty for sex offenses. There was only one case in which the convicted offender was actually put to death for sex crimes. It was the case of Thomas Graunger, a teenage boy apparently at the peak of his raging hormones who sought satisfaction from any and all sources available to him…the farm animals.

According to Plymouth Governor William Bradford, "He was this year detected of buggery, and indicted for the same, with a mare, a cow, two goats, five sheep, two calves and a turkey."

Even though Thomas was the only one executed for a sex crime, punishments were routinely severe even with far lesser sex crimes and usually meant whippings, being put into the stocks, and fines.

Although not liberal in their thinking or lifestyle, the pilgrims were not as uptight as history would have us believe. They tried to create a strict religious society, but had an understanding and mercy unusual for their time. As time passed, intolerance grew and was reflected in their laws as demonstrated by the notorious Salem witch trials.

Men were not the only offenders in Plymouth colony. The prim women weren't always so pious either. Women were often caught with the evidence of their dalliances: babies. The records of the times are filled with one out-of-wedlock child after another. Babies showing up just a few months after marriage were also evidence of wrong doing. Pre-marital sex was severely punished. Fines were levied even for making passes, for appearing to have a "lascivious carriage" in public, or partying in mixed company at an unseemly time of night.

Sex outside marriage, even between two unmarried consenting adults, usually meant a whipping and fines. If the woman became pregnant, the man had to either marry her or pay for the child's upbringing. The man was usually placed in the stocks and whipped while the woman was made to watch. Sometimes mercy was granted as in the case of a servant, Jane Powell. Following years of hard servitude, she was destitute and had agreed to having sex in the hopes of marrying the man. Apparently the court found her plea convincing and she went unpunished.

Even though the pilgrims imposed strict punishment for crimes, they also understood human temptations. In 1656, Katheren Aines and William Paule were sentenced for committing adultery. William was whipped and forced to pay the costs of his imprisonment. Katheren was whipped, imprisoned and forced to wear a letter on her shoulder designating her as an adulteress. (Calling Nathaniel Hawthorne!) However, Katheren's husband, Alexander, was also punished. Alexander had left his family for some time and treated her badly during their marriage. The pilgrims viewed him as guilty of "exposing his wife to such temptations." Alexander was required to pay for his wife's imprisonment, and sit in the stocks while William and Katheren were whipped.

This Thanksgiving as you sit down to your turkey dinner, it might be a good idea to take a moment to be thankful you aren't a pilgrim. :)

Eagle Vs. Turkey: America's National Symbol

2010-11-14T06:20:00.000-06:00

We all know that the bald eagle is America's National Symbol…a proud and majestic bird. And turkey is what we serve every year at Thanksgiving…a tasty bird made all the more appetizing when accompanied by dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy.

But did you know if Benjamin Franklin had gotten his way, the turkey would have been our national symbol?

In 1776, right after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress appointed a special committee to select a design for an official national seal. This committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. They each had their own ideas, none of which included the bald eagle. They finally came to agreement on a drawing of a woman holding a shield to represent the states. However, the design did nothing to inspire the members of Congress.

So Congress consulted a Philadelphia artist named William Barton who created a new design that included a golden eagle. At the time we were still at war with England and the fierce looking bird was deemed an appropriate symbol…with one small change. The golden eagle also flew over Europe so the federal lawmakers declared that the bird in the seal had to be an American bald eagle.

On June 20, 1782, they approved the design that we recognize today.

From the start, the eagle had been a controversial choice. Benjamin Franklin was quite vocal in his objection to the selection of the eagle. He considered it a bird of "bad moral character." A year after the Treaty of Paris officially ended the war with Great Britain, Franklin argued that the turkey would have been a more appropriate symbol. "A much more respected bird and a true native of America."

Unfortunately for Franklin, Congress was not convinced and the bald eagle remained our national symbol.

Whereas both the bald eagle and the turkey are native to America, we can't lay exclusive claim to either species since both were traditionally found in Canada and Mexico as well as the U.S.

And all of this leads us to one important question. If the turkey had been chosen as our national symbol, what would we serve as our traditional Thanksgiving dinner?

How To Be A Supervillain: Six Tips For Ruling The World

2010-11-07T08:49:00.000-06:00

This trying to take over the world business isn't as easy as it seems. Even with legions of henchmen and all kinds of super toys available to you, there's always some superhero out there to thwart your plans just when you're on the verge of success.

If world domination is your goal, here's a list of the top six essentials you'll need for a career as a supervillain.

Persian Cat (or equally sinister animal adornment)

Why It's Necessary: A supervillain needs to be holding the cat when he makes his grand entrance. The Persian breed says you're wealthy and that mankind's most aloof creature is no match for your icy resolve.
Who Did It Best: Ernst Stavro Blofeld, possibly James Bond's greatest enemy, was the trendsetter for many supervillain staples.

Bald Head

Why It's Necessary: Any supervillain worthy of the name has a spectacular chrome dome holding his genius brain.
Who Did It Best: Lex Luthor immediately leaps to mind.

Minions

Why It's Essential: The truth about supervillains can be summed up as why have dogs around you if you're going to end up doing your own barking. The true supervillain is too busy creating super plots to take over the world to have time for the minor interruptions such as kidnapping enemies and making Starbucks runs.
Who Did It Best: Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader had an army of Stormtroopers to send after the Rebel Alliance. Of course, that didn't help them win in the end.

Inventive Death Traps

Why It's Essential: A supervillain can't simply kill his adversary, he has to come up with an ingenious method of doing away with him that offers maximum dramatic impact. Of course, the downside of this is that it gives the hero ample opportunity to escape.
Who Did It Best: From Blofeld's piranha pool to all the torturous devices Indiana Jones encountered, there are just too many to try to pick only one.

Secret Hideaway

Why It's Essential: In order to have a dramatic showdown you need to have a suitably impressive backdrop and a secret hideaway is just the place.
Who Did It Best: Austin Powers' nemesis, Dr. Evil may have been inept in many areas, but he definitely had an eye for impressive lairs.

Evil Plan

Why It's Essential: Anyone with a genius IQ can built a super weapon and rain havoc on the population. However, a true supervillain has to do more than just destroy stuff. He needs an evil plan to justify all the destruction and there needs to be something for the hero to thwart.
Who Did It Best: The history of villainy give us a wealth of truly moronic evil plans. But for a scheme we can all believe in, we need to look at Magneto, the metal-molding mutant from X-Men. He can show us how an evil plan is done.

Who are your favorite supervillains?

Halloween Candy Nightmares

2010-10-31T09:35:00.000-05:00

Halloween aftermath usually means two things—putting the witch and goblin decorations away and fighting the battle of all that candy in the house. There's the leftover candy from what you bought to hand out and then there's all the candy the kids collected on their trick or treat rounds. Sacks full of candy. Enough potential tooth decay material to last until next Halloween.

And what kind of candy is it that we now have in abundance? It seems that all the candy manufacturers, in addition to their regular size candy bars, make the little fun size candy—the mini candy bars or individual pieces. Those little bite size morsels that give us just a taste.

These little tidbits aren't as harmless as you'd like to believe. Many of the small treats are worse for you than eating a normal size candy bar. But that can't be, you tell yourself, because you're only going to eat one of those little things and that's certainly not the same as a regular size candy bar. Well, you and I both know that's a lie! :)

I recently saw a list of the ten worse choices of these mini candy snacks and I'd like to share it with you.

1) Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins (1 piece): You convince yourself that you're getting lots of protein from the peanut butter. Think again. One pumpkin has 180 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 17 grams of sugar.

2) Dove Milk Chocolate Promises (5 pieces): Chocolate is marvelous stuff, full of antioxidants that help decrease the risk of heart disease. Think again. It's DARK chocolate that has the antioxidants, not milk chocolate. You're eating 220 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 22 grams of sugar.

3) Twix Miniatures (3 pieces): Like the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins, another choice that might not seem so bad for you. This gooey caramel and cookie crunch treat has 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 15 grams of sugar.

4) Almond Joy Snack-Size Bars (3 pieces): Coconut milk and coconut water might be popular in healthy eating circles, but that doesn't mean it's ok to cover it with chocolate and still consider it healthy. With these, you're eating 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 19 grams of sugar.

5) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Miniature (5 pieces): Remember the comments about Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins? Well, the same rules apply here only this time it's 220 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 23 grams of sugar.

6) Hershey's Miniatures (5 pieces): These are staples every year at Halloween time. The mixed bag of treats begs you to try at least one of each kind. You'll be consuming 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 19 grams of sugar.

7) Hershey's Kisses Caramel-Filled (9 pieces): These seem safe, but don't be fooled. You're looking at 190 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 24 grams of sugar.

8) York Dark Chocolate-Covered Peppermint Patties (3 pieces): The cool minty chocolate that melts in your mouth gives you 150 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 27 grams of sugar.

9) Snickers Fun Size (2 bars): The commercials say, "Hungry? Grab a Snickers." If you do, you'll be grabbing 144 calories, 7.4 grams of fat, and 14 grams of sugar.

10) Kit Kat Snack Size (3 2-piece bars): These little beauties are worth 210 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 24 grams of sugar.

Perhaps the scariest thing about Halloween is the number of calories, grams of fat, and grams of sugar we consume under the guise of it's little, it won't hurt me.

And strictly for adults…having a glass of wine with our Halloween candy. What type of wine goes with Candy Corn, you might ask. Master Sommelier and Director of Wines at Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants has put together some pairings of Halloween candy and wine for your pleasure.

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars go nicely with a fruity, low-alcohol wine like Brachetto d'Aqui from Northern Italy. It's bright pink and tastes like raspberries and roses.

Hot Tamales are intensely spicy and sweet. That demands a high acid wine with low alcohol to cut the spice and high sugar content, something like a German Riesling.

Tootsie Rolls go very well with a Tawny Port. A twenty year old Tawny Port will taste like nuts and orange peel.

Reese's Pieces go perfectly with Vin Santo from Italy. This wine has a nutty flavor, a great match with the peanut buttery candy.

And finally…what wine goes with Candy Corn? According to the expert, this super sugary candy pairs well with a very floral wine like Muscat de Beaumes de Venise which is a fortified Muscat from the South of France with a rich orange blossom flavor.

So…sort out your candy and don't over do it.

Halloween Is Almost Here...

2010-10-24T07:11:00.000-05:00

And this week I have more about ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. Starting with the ancient origins of the Halloween holiday and then a bit about Jack O'Lanterns.

The roots of Halloween date back 2000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in, rhymes with cow). The Celts lived in what is now Ireland, United Kingdom, and northern France. They celebrated their new year on November 1, the day marking the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of the dark winter. They believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead wasn't clearly defined. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, a time when they believed the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

To commemorate the event, the Druids (Celtic priests) built large sacred bonfires where the people made sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the winter.

By 43A.D., the Romans had conquered most of the Celtic territory. During the next four hundred years, the Roman festivals of Feralia and Pomona were combined with the traditional celebration of Samhain. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV declared November 1st to be All Saints' Day. It's believed today that the pope was trying to replace the Celtic festival with a church sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-Hallows. So, the night before it, the night of Samhain, was called All-Hallows Eve.

In 1000A.D., the church declared November 2nd All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes. Together the three celebrations—the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls'—were called Hallowmas and eventually Halloween.

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. They set places at the table and left treats on doorsteps for these friendly spirits. They also lit candles to help their loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Today's Halloween ghosts are usually depicted as scarier, as are our customs and superstitions.

And speaking of superstitions…have you ever wondered about where these strange beliefs came from? British author Harry Oliver has written a book titled Black Cats and Four-Leaf Clovers where he explores the origins of superstitions and old wives' tales from around the world. Here are a few of his observations.

Black Cats Bring Bad Luck: black cats have been linked to witchcraft through the centuries which is why many people think they're unlucky. If a cat crosses your path, it's considered unlucky. However, if a cat walks toward you, it's a good omen.

Carrots Are Good For Your Eyesight: although studies have shown that the vitamin A in carrots is good for your eyes, the vegetable isn't enough to create 20/20 vision. Many believe that it was a smart attempt by parents to get their children to eat their vegetables. There is another belief that it started during World War II. It was rumored that British pilots were eating huge amounts of carrots so they could see from high altitudes and in the dark. The rumor was created to keep the public from discovering that radar had been invented and was being used against the enemy.

Wear Your Underwear Inside Out: when you're having a bad day, superstition says that if you turn your underwear inside out things will get better. No one is sure where this one came from, but it's likely the result of a wild college fraternity party.

And then there's the Jack O'Lantern. Making a Jack O'Lantern for Halloween is a centuries old practice that originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed Stingy Jack. He played tricks on the Devil and made Satan promise not to take his soul when he died. When the time came, God refused to allow him into heaven because he was an unsavory character. The Devil wouldn't allow him into hell because Jack had made him promise. With nowhere to go, Jack put a burning coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as Jack Of The Lantern which morphed into Jack O'Lantern.

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions by carving scary faces into turnips and potatoes, and in England they used large beets. Immigrants from these countries brought the tradition with them to the United States where they soon found that pumpkins made the perfect Jack O'Lantern.

Do you have a favorite costume this year? Are you planning on going to a party? Leave me a comment about your Halloween plans.

Next week, since Halloween falls on Sunday and I have to post another new blog, I'm going to talk about what there will be an abundance of that night and for the next few days…Halloween candy. It will be Halloween Candy Nightmares (the worst choices) and the pairing of Halloween wine with Halloween candy. Do you have any idea which wine goes with candy corn? :)

Haunted Houses Are Now Big Business

2010-10-17T07:26:00.000-05:00

I remember when I was a child in West Los Angeles. We had a very large garage and one year my mother and father fixed it up like a haunted house for my Halloween party. They set up a winding, twisty route through the garage that led my friends through a maze of all kinds of scary things. It was a lot of fun and totally different from anything anyone else in the neighborhood did for Halloween. Of course, back in those days, scary things were not the same type of bloody gruesome attractions that are the main features at today's professional Halloween attractions.

Halloween attractions have moved far beyond the innocent neighborhood scare as a fun thing for the trick-or-treaters. Today they are big business. Operators of the large attractions spend most of the year coming up with new and better scary ideas and then implementing them. They take pleasure in dreaming up even more diabolical ways of giving us nightmares.

And guess what – a group of these scary attraction operators even have an organization of their own. Eighteen of the most famous haunted house attractions in the nation have formed America Haunts and count among their members Erebus, Netherworld, The Beast, The ScareHouse, and Edge of Hell. They even hold a national convention every summer in Pittsburgh. The haunted houses that belong to America Haunts are as diverse as the men and women who operate them.

Some, like Erebus, offer high tech features such as moving walls that push people into bottomless pits. They use pneumatics and programmable logic controllers to trigger various events. Erebus is seeking to reclaim its Guinness World Record for the largest haunted house with 2,450 linear feet (the equivalent of over seven football fields) of horror. With competition from seventy haunted house attractions within a fifty mile radius of their southeast Michigan location, they are constantly improving the attraction with innovative new features.

The ScareHouse is three horrifying haunted houses in one. In Rampage, the theme is steampunk meets George Orwell's 1984 meets Pink Floyd. Delirium 3D requires that you wear 3D glasses to go inside the conglomeration of bright colors, neon, European rave music and cybergothic aesthetic. Forsaken is the most traditional haunted house of the three.

But what's the oldest and largest Halloween haunt? Knott's Berry Farm theme park located in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles. Or as it's known this time of year, Knott's Scary Farm.

The Aslyam, one of the Haunt areas of Knott's Scary Farm

This month is the park's 38th annual Halloween Haunt. Knott's hosts the world's first and longest running Halloween theme park event, and the largest event in the amusement park industry. They make it clear that the event is not recommended for children under thirteen years of age. Horror and terror runs rampant through the park every night during October.

But what about real haunted houses? A Denver attraction, The 13th Floor, is housed in a former vocational school. The building has been studied by paranormal investigators who believe it to be truly haunted.

Do any of you have a genuine haunted house in your area?

Most Haunted Cities In America

2010-10-10T06:54:00.001-05:00

With the approach of Halloween, it's natural for thoughts to turn to ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. I decided to dedicate all my weekly blogs (for the four applicable Sundays remaining in October) to the holiday of spooky things starting with America's most haunted cities.

Most every city in the country can boast of at least one ghost or place of paranormal happening. There are several lists of the most haunted cities in the United States, most of them basically naming the same cities in varying order. Here's one list that recently came to my attention.

10) Portland, Oregon: Portland has a reputation for being the most haunted city in the Pacific Northwest. It's a city of many haunts, both seasonal tourist attractions and historical happenings where the participants refuse to leave. One of the most famous…or more accurately, infamous…historical haunts are the Shanghai Tunnels. We've all heard the slang expression of someone being Shanghaied, meaning abducted. This is where it originated. In the Victorian era (around the 1870s), ship captains would put into Portland on the Columbia River looking for fresh crew members. Local 'middlemen' would drug pub goers, dropped the bodies through trapdoors into the tunnels below where they were held until they could be carted to the waterfront and sold to the captain for $50/each. These ships were quite often headed for China, thus the term being Shanghaied. Many of these drugged unfortunates died while being held in the tunnels. Today, the Shanghai Tunnels have several ghosts, some menacing and others apparently confused.

9) San Francisco, California: A city of many haunted locations and happenings. One of the most interesting is Alcatraz. The island was a military prison during the Civil War. It was used off and on by many different groups to house various prisoners from that time until 1933 when it was officially turned over to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and used as a maximum security prison for the likes of Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. On March 23, 1963, Alcatraz closed its prison doors for good. Over the one hundred plus years that the island housed prisoners of all types, many died in cruel and terrible ways. Those spirits still inhabit Alcatraz. Even today as part of the National Park system, tourists taking one of the park ranger guided tours report seeing and hearing strange things that can't be explained.

8) Chicago, Illinois: Chicago was the center of gangland activity during Prohibition, including the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Many gangsters of the era used Chicago as a body dumping ground. There were also six thousand Confederate soldiers and sailors buried during the Civil War at Oak Woods Cemetery which has ongoing paranormal activity. Chicago's most famous ghost is Resurrection Mary named for Resurrection Cemetery. She was killed by a hit and run driver on the street in front of the cemetery and now is often seen hitch hiking along that street.

7) Charleston, South Carolina: The downtown area known as The Battery was a protective artillery installation during the Civil War. The area is known for its ghost stories. The Battery Carriage House Inn is the city's famous haunted hotel where visitors often see strange happenings. The inn's two most famous ghosts are the gentleman ghost and the headless torso. The gentleman ghost is thought to be a young man whose family owned the house in the early 1900s and, for no known reason, jumped off the roof and killed himself. The headless torso is believed to be military from the Civil War. There is no evidence that he intends any harm, but guests have felt threatened when he has suddenly materialized in their room.

6) St. Augustine, Florida: The nation's oldest city and the first permanently occupied European settlement. Castillo de San Marcos is a star-shaped fort and is considered to be one of the most haunted places in a city filled with unexplained phenomenon. The construction of The Old Fort began in 1672 and took twenty-three years to build. Many strange sightings, including a Spanish soldier, have been reported. It is not uncommon for individuals to capture on film strange lights, orbs, rods, spheres, and even distinct apparitions composed of strange mists.

5) San Antonio, Texas: The home of the Alamo is regarded as the most haunted city in Texas. Prior to the Battle of the Alamo, the ground was a cemetery between 1724 and 1793. It's estimated that about one thousand people were buried during those years. On the morning of March 6, 1836, following the thirteen day Battle of the Alamo, one thousand six hundred Mexican shoulders lay dead along with the approximately one hundred forty-five defenders of the old mission. The remaining buildings at the Alamo as well as the surrounding area is one of the most haunted places in the nation. Tales of ghostly sightings have been reported for almost two centuries.

4) New Orleans, Louisiana: With a history of voodoo and slavery in its past, it's no wonder that New Orleans is considered a very haunted city. Its most famous ghost is voodoo priestess Marie Laveau who was buried at St. Louis Cemetery #1, considered one of the most haunted cemeteries in the country. New Orleans is well below sea level, so the dead are buried in above ground tombs or vaults resembling small architectural buildings. Located on the edge of the haunted French Quarter, this oldest still in service cemetery has been the setting for many Haunted New Orleans movies such as Easy Rider, Interview With The Vampire, and Johnny Handsome. But its biggest draw is the tomb of Marie Laveau.

3) Salem, Massachusetts: This site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600s certainly makes the list of haunted cities. Gallows Hill is believed to be haunted by the spirits of the nineteen women accused of being witches who were hanged there. It also shouldn't be surprising that Salem has one of the largest Halloween celebrations in the country for people of all ages.

2) Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: The Civil War battle at Gettysburg resulted is fifty-one thousand casualties. It is believed that nearly all forty miles of the Gettysburg battlefields have paranormal activity. Many of the ghosts show up in photos, including the ghost of Robert E. Lee. In July 1863, Gettysburg's living population was out numbered twenty to one by the dead.

1) Savannah, Georgia: Savannah was named "America's Most Haunted City" in 2002 by the American Institute of Parapsychology. The city was home to a Revolutionary War battleground and also the site of the Civil War capture of General Sherman. Savannah offers several different haunted tours and is also famous as the location of the bestselling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Have any of you ever had any first hand experience with hauntings?

The New Fall Television Season

2010-10-03T07:50:00.000-05:00

Now that the new fall television season has premiered (at least most of the shows), what do you think? Hits and misses? Used to watch every week but not any more? Always meant to give it a try but never got around to it?

Two new broadcast network shows I'm trying out are both remakes on old shows from many, many years ago—The Defenders and Hawaii 5-0, both on CBS.

The Defenders originally debuted in 1961 (in black and white, before the days of color television!). It was a father-son lawyer team who always wore suits and ties and defended the wrongly accused and righteous causes. It starred E.G. Marshal as the father and Robert Reed (The Brady Bunch dad) as the son. Contrast that to the remake of The Defenders. The 2010 version is not a father-son lawyer team. It's set in Las Vegas which automatically says flashy and outrageous situations. I've only seen one episode so far, but it appears that ethical conduct and doing things by the book is not an essential part of their business day. :)

The original Hawaii 5-0 debuted in 1968 and was actually filmed in Hawaii which was most unusual for a television series of that era. Back in those days television shows were shot entirely in studio and on the the back lot with generic establishing shots and the occasional scene being shot on the streets of Los Angeles close to the studio. And like The Defenders, the characters wore suits. There they were, doing cop stuff and chasing down the bad guys in white shirts, suits, and ties. The specific changes with Hawaii 5-0 circa 2010 definitely bring the show into today's world. I am pleased to see that they kept the original theme music and same style of main title opening.

McGarrett is still the former Navy Lt. Commander who heads the elite 5-0 team and reports directly to the governor (who, in the pilot, was a woman). However his key team members were not recruited from the Honolulu Police Department. Danny was Honolulu PD, but had just transferred six months earlier from New Jersey so he could be close to his five year old daughter. Chin Ho used to be Honolulu PD until he got involved in a scandal (wrongfully accused type thing) and is now on the outs with them. And Kono…well, Kono is now a woman who happens to be Chin Ho's cousin and a brand new graduate of the police academy. Suits and ties? Only Danny wears a tie and it isn't exactly neat and tidy—shirt unbuttoned at the neck with shirt tail barely tucked in, tie loosened, sleeves rolled up. McGarrett? The basic jeans and T-shirt wardrobe. They also explained Danno as a nickname for Danny, at least the explanation that fits the 2010 version.

And then there's a new series from the long running and highly successful Law & Order franchise…Law & Order/Los Angeles. I watched the debut episode. It was okay, but I wasn't wowed by it. I read that USA cable renewed Law & Order/Criminal Intent for another season and they're bringing back Vincent De Onofrio as his Robert Goren character to replace Jeff Goldblum who departed the series. I like that, always thought Goren was an interesting character. In fact, I think I find that more interesting than Law & Order/Los Angeles. :)

CSI/New York (CBS) has a new detective forensics person, a woman from Virginia who replaces the departed Stella. She seems like a good character. I've only seen one episode and she did not leave me with a negative impression, but I don't really have any opinion about her yet.

And, of course, The Mentalist, NCIS (have you noticed how much weight McGee lost over the summer?), and NCIS/Los Angeles are all back. I like the character NCIS/Los Angeles added at the end of last season, Deeks, the police detective who is their liaison with the Los Angeles police department.

And there's the new season of Bones (Fox) and Castle (ABC). Seems to be lots of speculation about whether Booth and Brennan will finally get together and same for Castle and Beckett. Hmmm…let's think about that. Moonlighting—as soon as David and Maddie got together and it was goodbye series. And Remington Steele—as soon as Remington and Laura got together it was goodbye series. Once that sexual tension and the what if is resolved, the spark in the series (as in continuing episodes week after week) usually dies as does the series. For the start of this season, the guys seem to have found other love interests for the time being even though we know those relationships won't last. Booth has the woman (a journalist?) he met during his summer training duty in Afghanistan and over the summer Castle got back together with his second wife for a fling.

And a sad note…one of the little bits of business that Castle used was to give their main character, best selling mystery writer Richard Castle, some real life best selling mystery writers as his poker buddies with them making occasional cameo appearances. James Patterson, Michael Connelly, and Stephen J. Cannell. Unfortunately, Stephen J. Cannell passed away a couple of days ago, on Sept. 30, 2010. A prolific creater, producer, and writer of television shows before turning his hand to writing novels.

And The Mentalist? Simon Baker is such a cutie!

Criminal Minds…JJ departed. I heard Criminal Minds is going to have a spin off Criminal Minds (Los Angeles?) and the Penelope Garcia character will be a recurring character on the new one in addition to staying where she is. She's a great character, really like her.

CSI Miami moved to a new night with the season premiere tonight (Sunday, Oct 3). I kind of lost interest in CSI Miami when they started messing with the characters. Wolf is a good guy this week, he's a jerk next week, back and forth. And then we didn't know who Delco was any more.

And about to wind up its first season is another show I really like, The Glades on A&E cable. There's another cutie, Matt Passmore.

Lots of Aussies starring in American television series…The Glades, The Mentalist, and Hawaii 5-0. Maybe a third attempt at an American television series with Hawaii 5-0 will be a charm for Alex O'Loughlin after short runs with both Moonlight (he was definitely a sexy vampire) and Three Rivers.

Looking forward to the (November or December ?) start of the new season for White Collar and also Psyche on USA cable.

How about you? Any new shows you're into or returning ones that are favorites?

Fifty Years After Emily Post

2010-09-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

Fifty years ago this week, etiquette expert Emily Post died. In a recent Vanity Fair poll of 18 – 44 year-olds, forty percent of those queried had no idea who Emily Post was or why she was famous.

Society has changed quite a bit in the fifty years since her death. So, how relevant are Emily Post's etiquette rules to modern life in today's fast paced society of five second sound bites, social media, and instant global communication?

Some of the topics she covered in her 1922 book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, seem totally irrelevant today. Subjects such as one of my favorites—how to keep your fan, gloves, and napkin on your lap at fancy dinner parties. That skill has always been a stumbling block for me at the many fancy dinner parties I routinely attend. :) Some of her other advice, however, is still relevant today.

Fashion: For men she recommended suits for everywhere and all occasions except what she referred to as "the country." When on a country outing, breeches and polished leather riding boots were acceptable. Her thoughts on female style are more relevant. She said most women were fashion sheep, that they should take trends and personalize them.

Conversational Skills: After you dismiss all the complicated stuff about when to doff a hat or curtsy, a lot of her advice is still common sense today. Things such as—will what you have to say be interesting to those around you, don't repeat yourself, let other people talk, and don't pretend to know more than you do.

At a Live Performance: Her book has lots of advice about things like how to dress and whether it's acceptable for a woman to attend with a man who is not her husband. Bear in mind that she was referring to the theater, opera, or the symphony. Her two biggest rules are one hundred percent relevant today—shut up and be on time!

Introductions: She apparently loved all the formalities of meeting new people, presenting calling cards, and how to properly address each other. In today's society it's very common for people to know each other even without having been properly introduced face-to-face. We're friends on Facebook, I saw your video on YouTube, I read your tweet. I imagine that would have thrown Emily into quite a tizzy. :)

Mustn't: Emily Post had lots of mustn'ts. Here are a couple of examples. "A lady mustn't carry a bundle of anything on the streets, but if she has to, a man must carry it for her." "If a man doesn't enjoy the conversation a lady has offered, a woman mustn't be offended, but rather keep fishing for topics he might find agreeable." This sort of reminds me of that magazine article from the mid 1950s about how to be a good wife. Definitely advice to make today's woman cringe. :)

Houses: Her advice in this area seems the most outdated and indicates that her advice was apparently a luxury for the wealthy. She advised that a house must have servants on hand to collect a visitor's things when they visit.

It's easy to make fun of etiquette rules published eighty-eight years ago, but Emily Post's most basic rule is as necessary today as it was back then. "Never do anything that is unpleasant to others."

Weird and Wacky Laws

2010-09-19T05:45:00.001-05:00

My mother is now at a rehab hospital for her broken hip. I'm still spending a lot of time running between my house, my mother' house, and the rehab facility. So, as I did last week, I'm reposting one of my blogs from about a year ago. My life should be back into a "normal" mode by next Sunday so that I can post a new blog. But until then, here's another trip down memory lane. :)

***

There is no question that many weird and wacky laws exist out there. You can only scratch your head and wonder what the various state legislatures were thinking about when they actually took the time to pass these strange ideas into law. And to take it a step farther, you can only wonder how some of these antiquated laws could possibly be enforced...and why they weren't repealed a long time ago. It would be interesting to know what the penalty would be if convicted of breaking some of these laws.

Here are ten such laws that caught my attention (and tickled my funny bone).

In TEXAS, an anti-crime law requires criminals to give their victims notice—oral or written—twenty-four hours in advance of the crime they're planning to commit and the nature of that crime.

In WAYNESBORO, VIRGINIA, it was once illegal for a woman to drive a car up Main Street unless her husband walked in front of the car waving a red flag.

In the state of WASHINGTON, it is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the local chief of police before entering the town.

In IOWA, one-armed piano players who perform must do it for free.

In ALABAMA, it's illegal to wear a funny fake mustache to church.

In NEW HAMPSHIRE, you may not tap your feet, nod your head or in any way keep time with the music played in a tavern, restaurant or café.

In CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, it is forbidden to fish while sitting on a giraffe's neck.

In FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, a person can be jailed for wearing a hat while dancing or wearing a hat to an event where dancing is taking place.

In MINNESOTA, no one is allowed to cross the line into the state with a duck on his/her head.

In DENVER, COLORADO, next door neighbors may not lend each other vacuum cleaners.

And here's a bonus offering that truly boggles the mind:

In MICHIGAN, beavers can be fined up to $10,000 per day for building unlicensed dams, according to a letter the state once sent certain beavers in Grand Rapids. This actually happened! After complaints about flooding on neighboring property, the state sent a letter to the land owner ordering him to remove unauthorized wood debris dams. The reply sent by the landowner was widely circulated around the internet as he pointed out that the "wood debris dams" belonged to beavers and he was not responsible for it. Eventually the matter was dropped and it seems unlikely that this would actually happen again. :)

Do any of you have weird laws in your state or country that have long ago outlived their original purpose but are still on the books?

Secondary Characters And How To Use Them

2010-09-12T07:03:00.001-05:00

I've had a hectic week. On Labor Day (Monday, September 6), my mother fell and broke her hip. At that time she was preparing for knee replacement surgery. Left hip and right knee, which compounded her recovery. I feel as if I've been spending all my time either at the hospital or in my car going to and from. They moved her to a rehab facility yesterday, but no prognosis on how long she'll be there. So, to make a long story short [I know, I'm too late on that count :) ], this week's blog is one I originally posted a little over a year and a half ago as a guest blogger elsewhere. For those who may recognize it, I hope you enjoy it a second time. For those who don't recognize it, I hope you enjoy it for the first time. :)

Here's the repost of my blog about secondary characters:

While trying to decide on a topic for today's blog, I was torn between a writing type topic or something of a more general nature. The decision came to me while watching a couple of movies last night. One of them was Murder On The Orient Express with its all star cast where almost everyone in the movie was a major character. It occurred to me that there were very few characters other than the many primary ones. So I started thinking about secondary characters and how they can be used to prod, shove and push the main characters into and along the necessary path for the story line.

So, let's talk a bit about secondary characters.

When I say secondary characters, I'm not referring to the minor characters that decorate a scene and maybe have a couple of lines of dialogue. I'm talking about the characters who have a prominent place in your story but are not your main characters. These are the characters you can use to maneuver your main characters into and along the path toward achieving the story goal. They are a key factor in moving your story along and determining what direction it takes.

In developing these characters you need to decide what you want them to accomplish and how you want them to relate to and interact with your main characters in addition to each other in order to move your story line along to its conclusion. Let's take a look at how a set of secondary characters can be used to move a story line in a specific direction. Remember, it's not who they are, it's what they do and how they relate to the main characters and how the main characters respond to them.

Example: You have a story about a teenager who is the leader of a gang. He has been stealing cars for some mobsters. You have two ways you can go with your main character of the teenage gang leader, in other words, two directions your story line can take and you must choose one of them.

1) He wants to leave the gang and make something of his life

2) He runs his gang with a iron hand and threatens anyone who wants out.

With the first scenario, your choice of secondary characters who will influence the story line can be his girl friend, his little brother, and one of his teachers. That tells you who they are, but doesn't tell you how they move the story. His girl friend fears for his safety and finally gives him the ultimatum of leave the gang or she's leaving him. His little brother idolizes him and wants to be just like him, but he doesn't want his little brother to make the same mistakes he did. His teacher is mentoring him by helping him with his studies and finding him an after school job.

With the second scenario, your choice of secondary characters can be his girl friend, a rival gang leader, and his contact with the mobsters who pay him for the stolen cars. Again, that tells you who they are but not what they do to move the story in a specific direction. His girl friend demands more and more in the way of material things so he needs the money from stealing cars to keep her happy. The rival gang leader is trying to take over his stolen car business so he needs to watch his back to protect his own interests. The mobster gives him access to the easy money he needs to keep his girl friend happy and the promise of being able to move into their organization and advance in the criminal world.

Each scenario has the same secondary character of the girl friend, but her function is different in the two scenarios so that the character helps move the two story lines in different directions.

One of the great things about secondary characters is that you can make them as outrageous, unconventional and over-the-top as you want. You don't have the same parameters and cautions with secondary characters as you do with your main characters. The primary thing you need to be careful with is not making them more interesting than your main characters so that they don't steal the show and shove your main characters into the background.

So, I'd like to hear from you. Any comments about developing and using secondary characters in your writing? Or any television shows, movies, or books where the secondary characters stood out in your mind with the way they were able to guide the story line?

Those Lusty Gods Of Mythology And Their Sexy Pursuits

2010-09-05T07:23:00.000-05:00