Dear readers:
While those who cared about justice for Paula are passionate people who, today of all days, are bound to be expressing relief and satisfaction at the news of an arrest, I ask that you have patience with me publishing comments; I would love nothing more than to sit by the computer all day and watch things unfold, but I'll be out after lunch and probably won't be able to publish for at least a few hours.
I also want to point out that, though news of an arrest is encouraging and long-awaited news indeed, there hasn't yet been a conviction, and we have to be mindful of that. I have no interest in protecting those who don't deserve any sort of regard, but I won't publish any comments for which I might be liable from a legal standpoint.
The news is bittersweet in many ways, but let's pray this is the beginning of some resolution.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Spring Cleaning
Please, friends, join me for a bit of spring cleaning. Also, since I know how much better it feels to let your gripes loose, even if it’s only on a Facebook status or on the phone with your sister, I encourage you to find an outlet to do some spring cleaning of your own.
To the little punk with the multi-colored Civic: a few years ago, I had a car with a hole in the muffler, and it made the most obnoxious sound. A buzzing, mechanical, groaning sound which caused me both migraines and embarrassment. I guess that’s why I can’t comprehend why you’d intentionally modify your car in a way to make an even louder, more obnoxious noise. In case there is any confusion, let me clarify for you.
No one is looking at your car and saying, “Wow, that car is so cool. I wish mine made noise like that. That guy is my hero.” Don’t kid yourself, they’re saying, “What kind of moron strives to draw more attention to a multi-colored Civic? And why are my ears bleeding? I wish that guy would move away.” This example applies particularly to when you’re driving down my street at 11pm, only imagine it being muttered through clenched teeth and laden with colorful language and possibly even the mention of forks being plunged into tires (theoretically, of course).
To the people who can’t control their dogs: I have a dog. Every once in awhile (meaning, a handful of times per year), my dog will take advantage of some unforeseen window of opportunity to sneak out of the house sans leash. He’ll run around the neighborhood for 30 minutes or so, visiting other dogs, exploring some places he doesn’t ever get to see (since he’s NEVER allowed to roam), and being free. I can neither confirm nor deny that he pees in my neighbors’ yard or on their garbage box, but if he does, I truly apologize.
But, what say you, people who let their dog roam around town? What is your defense? I can completely understand if your dog hatches an escape plan and infrequently skips out, but there are a few dogs in particular whose owners just plain don’t care what the rules are, apparently. I’m not sure why these people all seem to live in puppy-roaming-distance from my house, but it’s out of control. And yes, I’m naming names.
Brutus is my most frequent guest, and on one occasion, as I was trying to rescue my own dog from his “advances”, he forced his way into my kitchen. Then he marked his territory on my welcome mat. He’s lucky to be alive today, if you catch my drift. I should also mention the pitiful, scraggily grey dog who is always hungry, and the playful but massive Burmese-looking black puppy who practically lives on my deck and scares the heck out of my 4-year-old. If these descriptions ring a bell, consider yourself warned.
To the people at the drive-thru: if I don’t ask for something, I have no right to complain about not getting it (not entirely true, especially in the case of fast food places where desired acquisition of certain condiments is implied based on the items ordered – like if you order pancakes, it’s only natural to expect syrup to be in the bag without having to ask - but for sake of argument I’ll cut some slack for now).
However, if I ask for sauce, I expect it to be in the bag without having to hold up the drive-thru by rifling through the bags to check. Similarly, if you ask me if I want sauce, it is only natural that I would expect to find said sauce in the bag when I arrive home to my ravenous, impatient children. By the time I drive back to get the sauce, absorb the attitude and stink eye (because YOUR omission is obviously MY fault, right?), and drive back home, all the food is cold and my entire family’s supper is ruined. So, thanks for that.
While I’m at it, to the coffee people: why don’t we all just call a spade a spade and rename it “roll up the rim to please play again”?
And finally, to the woman responsible for the most horrifying dining experience of my life: while I cannot identify you without offending the sensibilities of many, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the disgusting spectacle you made at my favorite restaurant last week. I’m sure you felt my eyes boring holes into the back of your head, and I can only hope your disgusting, inconsiderate, unsanitary eating habits were scared away by my icy glare.
There. Now I feel a bit better.
To the little punk with the multi-colored Civic: a few years ago, I had a car with a hole in the muffler, and it made the most obnoxious sound. A buzzing, mechanical, groaning sound which caused me both migraines and embarrassment. I guess that’s why I can’t comprehend why you’d intentionally modify your car in a way to make an even louder, more obnoxious noise. In case there is any confusion, let me clarify for you.
No one is looking at your car and saying, “Wow, that car is so cool. I wish mine made noise like that. That guy is my hero.” Don’t kid yourself, they’re saying, “What kind of moron strives to draw more attention to a multi-colored Civic? And why are my ears bleeding? I wish that guy would move away.” This example applies particularly to when you’re driving down my street at 11pm, only imagine it being muttered through clenched teeth and laden with colorful language and possibly even the mention of forks being plunged into tires (theoretically, of course).
To the people who can’t control their dogs: I have a dog. Every once in awhile (meaning, a handful of times per year), my dog will take advantage of some unforeseen window of opportunity to sneak out of the house sans leash. He’ll run around the neighborhood for 30 minutes or so, visiting other dogs, exploring some places he doesn’t ever get to see (since he’s NEVER allowed to roam), and being free. I can neither confirm nor deny that he pees in my neighbors’ yard or on their garbage box, but if he does, I truly apologize.
But, what say you, people who let their dog roam around town? What is your defense? I can completely understand if your dog hatches an escape plan and infrequently skips out, but there are a few dogs in particular whose owners just plain don’t care what the rules are, apparently. I’m not sure why these people all seem to live in puppy-roaming-distance from my house, but it’s out of control. And yes, I’m naming names.
Brutus is my most frequent guest, and on one occasion, as I was trying to rescue my own dog from his “advances”, he forced his way into my kitchen. Then he marked his territory on my welcome mat. He’s lucky to be alive today, if you catch my drift. I should also mention the pitiful, scraggily grey dog who is always hungry, and the playful but massive Burmese-looking black puppy who practically lives on my deck and scares the heck out of my 4-year-old. If these descriptions ring a bell, consider yourself warned.
To the people at the drive-thru: if I don’t ask for something, I have no right to complain about not getting it (not entirely true, especially in the case of fast food places where desired acquisition of certain condiments is implied based on the items ordered – like if you order pancakes, it’s only natural to expect syrup to be in the bag without having to ask - but for sake of argument I’ll cut some slack for now).
However, if I ask for sauce, I expect it to be in the bag without having to hold up the drive-thru by rifling through the bags to check. Similarly, if you ask me if I want sauce, it is only natural that I would expect to find said sauce in the bag when I arrive home to my ravenous, impatient children. By the time I drive back to get the sauce, absorb the attitude and stink eye (because YOUR omission is obviously MY fault, right?), and drive back home, all the food is cold and my entire family’s supper is ruined. So, thanks for that.
While I’m at it, to the coffee people: why don’t we all just call a spade a spade and rename it “roll up the rim to please play again”?
And finally, to the woman responsible for the most horrifying dining experience of my life: while I cannot identify you without offending the sensibilities of many, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the disgusting spectacle you made at my favorite restaurant last week. I’m sure you felt my eyes boring holes into the back of your head, and I can only hope your disgusting, inconsiderate, unsanitary eating habits were scared away by my icy glare.
There. Now I feel a bit better.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sometimes, It Just Works
I just read a Center for Disease Control and Prevention report about marriage. Now, I’m not sure why the CDCP is concerning itself with marriage instead of, you know, disease prevention, but regardless – there’s a report, and I read it because the findings were interesting. It shows that couples who live together before marriage are more likely to break-up than those who don't.
I was very surprised to hear this, as the practical part of me wholeheartedly disagreed with the conclusion of the report. Gone are the days of couples living apart until they’re married; in fact, off the top of my head, I can’t even think of any one couple, in my circle of friends or otherwise, who does not live together.
And, in my opinion, right or wrong, living together before marriage just plain makes sense from a logistical standpoint. (Please don’t send me hate mail about how living in sin is un-Catholic. I’ve read the Bible, I know the rules, and it’s not for me to advise couples on their course of action. It’s only a point of view, folks. )
I have been married for almost four years, but I have lived with my husband for far longer than that, and I can’t imagine it having been any other way. There are habitual things, behaviors and methods, which are good to find out about before you have pledged to spend the rest of your days putting up with them, don’t you think?
If you’re a clean freak, you will find it difficult to live with someone who has cleaned up for your visits for the past three years but secretly lives in filth when you’re not there. Once the two lives meld, conflict is sure to arise if a compromise isn’t reached before moving day.
Maybe tidiness isn’t a make-or-break caliber conflict, but when a marriage begins, I would be inclined to think the fewer problems a couple is faced with, the better.
Not to mention, it can go deeper than tidy vs. not. There are a thousand “little” issues that might turn out to be big issues once two lives are riding on it, especially in the midst of a completely unfamiliar and often very trying chapter in someone’s life.
Some might say that as long as a couple loves each other and is on the same page as far as their morals and values are concerned, the rest is inconsequential and can be worked out with some time and patience. In an ideal world, sure, all you need is love. In reality, learning to successfully live together is a massive, humongous, gigantic part of married life. After all, the ultimate goal is not just to make a marriage work; lots of people can do that whether or not they’re meant to. The real mission, as far as I’m concerned, is to spend the rest of my life in a happy marriage. And - like it or not, experts – that required me knowing about his morning routine and thrice-daily showers and aversion to heat BEFORE I had vowed to embrace and put up with all of it.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m too liberal-minded and the whole “living in sin” thing wasn’t as relevant to me as it should have been. I didn’t consciously decide that I was going to defy what is proper in society’s eyes; all I knew was that I wanted to spend every moment with my partner and truly get to know him and his life before I made a lifetime commitment, and I can tell you with certainty that I was in a much more confident position to make that commitment because we lived together. But, I suppose that may not be the case, or the best idea, for everyone. I’m no one’s moral compass, that’s for sure, so to each his own.
The more I read, the more the rest of me disagreed with the report, too. While it was at times thought-provoking, I tend to think that if two people are compatible and truly love each other, with some hard work and mutual respect, you can have a happy and long-lasting marriage. There may be some truth to the numbers involved in all these studies and statistics, but they’re broad statements to be sure. I like to think I fly in the face of the theories the CDCP have presented, and those of you who have managed to make it work should feel good about doing the same.
This probably explains why I always preferred sociology to math.
I was very surprised to hear this, as the practical part of me wholeheartedly disagreed with the conclusion of the report. Gone are the days of couples living apart until they’re married; in fact, off the top of my head, I can’t even think of any one couple, in my circle of friends or otherwise, who does not live together.
And, in my opinion, right or wrong, living together before marriage just plain makes sense from a logistical standpoint. (Please don’t send me hate mail about how living in sin is un-Catholic. I’ve read the Bible, I know the rules, and it’s not for me to advise couples on their course of action. It’s only a point of view, folks. )
I have been married for almost four years, but I have lived with my husband for far longer than that, and I can’t imagine it having been any other way. There are habitual things, behaviors and methods, which are good to find out about before you have pledged to spend the rest of your days putting up with them, don’t you think?
If you’re a clean freak, you will find it difficult to live with someone who has cleaned up for your visits for the past three years but secretly lives in filth when you’re not there. Once the two lives meld, conflict is sure to arise if a compromise isn’t reached before moving day.
Maybe tidiness isn’t a make-or-break caliber conflict, but when a marriage begins, I would be inclined to think the fewer problems a couple is faced with, the better.
Not to mention, it can go deeper than tidy vs. not. There are a thousand “little” issues that might turn out to be big issues once two lives are riding on it, especially in the midst of a completely unfamiliar and often very trying chapter in someone’s life.
Some might say that as long as a couple loves each other and is on the same page as far as their morals and values are concerned, the rest is inconsequential and can be worked out with some time and patience. In an ideal world, sure, all you need is love. In reality, learning to successfully live together is a massive, humongous, gigantic part of married life. After all, the ultimate goal is not just to make a marriage work; lots of people can do that whether or not they’re meant to. The real mission, as far as I’m concerned, is to spend the rest of my life in a happy marriage. And - like it or not, experts – that required me knowing about his morning routine and thrice-daily showers and aversion to heat BEFORE I had vowed to embrace and put up with all of it.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m too liberal-minded and the whole “living in sin” thing wasn’t as relevant to me as it should have been. I didn’t consciously decide that I was going to defy what is proper in society’s eyes; all I knew was that I wanted to spend every moment with my partner and truly get to know him and his life before I made a lifetime commitment, and I can tell you with certainty that I was in a much more confident position to make that commitment because we lived together. But, I suppose that may not be the case, or the best idea, for everyone. I’m no one’s moral compass, that’s for sure, so to each his own.
The more I read, the more the rest of me disagreed with the report, too. While it was at times thought-provoking, I tend to think that if two people are compatible and truly love each other, with some hard work and mutual respect, you can have a happy and long-lasting marriage. There may be some truth to the numbers involved in all these studies and statistics, but they’re broad statements to be sure. I like to think I fly in the face of the theories the CDCP have presented, and those of you who have managed to make it work should feel good about doing the same.
This probably explains why I always preferred sociology to math.
More OMG Facts
By popular demand, I give you more random facts. In case you’re wondering, all the facts I’ve listed have been verified by the OMG Facts staff (which is probably iron-clad, since everything you read on the internet is true, right?).
Anyway, enjoy!
When flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you landed 2 hours before you left.
Farmville players on Facebook outnumber real farmers in the US by a ratio of 60 to 1.
The cost of the halftime commercials during the Superbowl could feed the world's entire refugee population - twice.
Car airbags kill 1 person for every 22 lives that they save.
Every three minutes someone in the world reports a UFO.
Vending machines kill four times more people each year than sharks do.
Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a 50,000 word novel, "Gadsby", which doesn't contain the letter E.
'Typewriter' is the longest English word that can be made by using only one row of a keyboard.
Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
'Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia' is the fear of long words.
“Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.
Eating a bag of chips a day is the equivalent of drinking five liters of cooking oil a year.
Women speak about 7000 words a day. The average man? 2000.
The Bible is the number one most shoplifted book of all time.
Over 2500 left-handed people a year are killed from using equipment made for right-handed people.
Rain contains vitamin B12.
Almost 100,000 kids in the United States bring guns to school DAILY.
Eagles mate in mid air.
All swans in England are the property of the queen or king.
The MGM Grand Hotel of Las Vegas washes 15,000 pillowcases per day.
The can opener was invented 48 years after the can.
In Albania, nodding your head means 'no' and shaking your head means 'yes'.
In Venezuela, fuel costs around $0.02 per gallon.
The 7-Eleven Extreme Gulp is 50% bigger than the volume of the human stomach.
A 100-pound person on Earth would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.
Of all things, Andrew Jackson's tombstone does not mention that he served as the president of the United States.
Every U.S. president with a beard has been a Republican.
Women end up digesting most of the lipstick they apply.
The average American eats at McDonalds more than 1,800 times in their life.
People who are lying to you tend to look up and to their left.
Malaysians protect their babies from disease by bathing them in beer.
Only 1 out of 700 identity thieves gets caught.
Walmart generates approximately $3,000,000.00 in revenues every 7 minutes.
There was no punctuation until the 15th century.
There are more telephones than people in Washington, D.C.
The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
About 8 million toothpicks can be made from a cord of wood.
The combined weight of all the ants in the world is about the same or slightly greater than the weight of all humans.
American car horns beep in the tone of F.
There is an average of 178 sesame seeds on a Big Mac bun.
You would need to stack 11 Empire State Buildings one on top of the other to measure the Gulf of Mexico at its deepest point.
There are more cars in Los Angeles than people.
Most heart attacks happen on Mondays.
The Pope’s official barber earns an annual salary equivalent to $250,000 USD.
Eighty percent of all pictures on the internet are nude women.
Studies have proven that bees can count.
Human hair, while seemingly fragile, is almost indestructible.
Eating celery is technically an exercise, since chewing it burns more calories than it contains.
Married men tip better than unmarried men, by about 10%.
If you lined up your blood vessels from end to end, they could circle the globe, and then some.
In the winter of 1932, Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Shakespeare wrote about one-tenth of the most quotable quotations ever written or spoken in English.
Nearly 22,000 cheques will be deducted somewhere in the world from the wrong account in the next hour.
The venom of the king cobra is so deadly that one gram can kill 150 people.
By recycling just one glass bottle, the amount of energy that is being saved is enough to light a 100 watt bulb for four hours.
The average person spends about three years of their life on a toilet.
Food for thought!
Anyway, enjoy!
When flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you landed 2 hours before you left.
Farmville players on Facebook outnumber real farmers in the US by a ratio of 60 to 1.
The cost of the halftime commercials during the Superbowl could feed the world's entire refugee population - twice.
Car airbags kill 1 person for every 22 lives that they save.
Every three minutes someone in the world reports a UFO.
Vending machines kill four times more people each year than sharks do.
Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a 50,000 word novel, "Gadsby", which doesn't contain the letter E.
'Typewriter' is the longest English word that can be made by using only one row of a keyboard.
Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
'Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia' is the fear of long words.
“Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.
Eating a bag of chips a day is the equivalent of drinking five liters of cooking oil a year.
Women speak about 7000 words a day. The average man? 2000.
The Bible is the number one most shoplifted book of all time.
Over 2500 left-handed people a year are killed from using equipment made for right-handed people.
Rain contains vitamin B12.
Almost 100,000 kids in the United States bring guns to school DAILY.
Eagles mate in mid air.
All swans in England are the property of the queen or king.
The MGM Grand Hotel of Las Vegas washes 15,000 pillowcases per day.
The can opener was invented 48 years after the can.
In Albania, nodding your head means 'no' and shaking your head means 'yes'.
In Venezuela, fuel costs around $0.02 per gallon.
The 7-Eleven Extreme Gulp is 50% bigger than the volume of the human stomach.
A 100-pound person on Earth would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.
Of all things, Andrew Jackson's tombstone does not mention that he served as the president of the United States.
Every U.S. president with a beard has been a Republican.
Women end up digesting most of the lipstick they apply.
The average American eats at McDonalds more than 1,800 times in their life.
People who are lying to you tend to look up and to their left.
Malaysians protect their babies from disease by bathing them in beer.
Only 1 out of 700 identity thieves gets caught.
Walmart generates approximately $3,000,000.00 in revenues every 7 minutes.
There was no punctuation until the 15th century.
There are more telephones than people in Washington, D.C.
The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
About 8 million toothpicks can be made from a cord of wood.
The combined weight of all the ants in the world is about the same or slightly greater than the weight of all humans.
American car horns beep in the tone of F.
There is an average of 178 sesame seeds on a Big Mac bun.
You would need to stack 11 Empire State Buildings one on top of the other to measure the Gulf of Mexico at its deepest point.
There are more cars in Los Angeles than people.
Most heart attacks happen on Mondays.
The Pope’s official barber earns an annual salary equivalent to $250,000 USD.
Eighty percent of all pictures on the internet are nude women.
Studies have proven that bees can count.
Human hair, while seemingly fragile, is almost indestructible.
Eating celery is technically an exercise, since chewing it burns more calories than it contains.
Married men tip better than unmarried men, by about 10%.
If you lined up your blood vessels from end to end, they could circle the globe, and then some.
In the winter of 1932, Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Shakespeare wrote about one-tenth of the most quotable quotations ever written or spoken in English.
Nearly 22,000 cheques will be deducted somewhere in the world from the wrong account in the next hour.
The venom of the king cobra is so deadly that one gram can kill 150 people.
By recycling just one glass bottle, the amount of energy that is being saved is enough to light a 100 watt bulb for four hours.
The average person spends about three years of their life on a toilet.
Food for thought!
OMG Facts
I had a hard time making use of Twitter for the first few months. I didn’t care what Alyssa Milano was eating for breakfast, and I found myself questioning why I joined the site in the first place. I’ll spare you the drawn-out story of my coming around, but let me say this: the best use I’ve found for Twitter is the exchange of very interesting information.
There are a few people/companies I follow who share articles and pieces of work that are much more useful than your average “which celebrity is doing what” offering. There are articles on technology, psychology, parenting, politics, and every other conceivable topic. One of my favorites is an account called “OMG Facts”. If you’re on Twitter, follow them. If you’re not on Twitter, allow me to share some of their interesting little tidbits with you.
There are more bacteria in your mouth than there are people in the world.
The trucking company Elvis Presley worked at as a young man was owned by Frank Sinatra.
A car travelling at 100mph would take more than 29 million years to reach the sun.
On average, 100 people choke on ballpoint pens every year.
It’s estimated that millions of trees are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts and then forget where they hid them.
All the gold ever mined in the world could be molded into a cube 60 feet high and 60 feet wide.
Until President Kennedy was killed, it wasn’t a federal crime to assassinate the President.
The Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport is larger than New York City’s Manhattan Island.
Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he declined.
Disney World generates about 120,000 pounds of garbage every day.
Canada has more lakes that the rest of the world combined.
The weight of a blue whale's tongue is greater than most elephants.
Every single US president has worn glasses.
The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise
their lower eyelids.
Vultures can fly for 6 hours without flapping their wings.
If you put a drop of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
J.K. Rowling is wealthier then the Queen of England.
There are 293 different ways to make change for a dollar.
You're 3 times more likely to be killed in a car accident while driving to buy a lottery ticket than you are to win the jackpot.
It took radio 38 years to hit 50 million users. The internet took 5 years.
India has a Bill of Rights for cows.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln, had a brother who once saved the life of Lincoln’s son.
Literate adults can usually udnretsnad any msseed up stnecene as lnog as the frsit and lsat lteetrs of wdros are in the crrcoet plaecs!
On the old Canadian two dollar bill, there was an American flag flying over the Parliament building.
There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes.
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
A female platypus sweats milk.
A first class (parlor suite) ticket on to the Titanic cost $4,350, which translates into $90,000 in 2009 USD.
Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first couple to be shown in bed together on television, and it wasn't until 1960.
Baseball player Richie Ashburn, in August 1957, hit a fan with a foul ball. A few minutes later, he hit the same fan with another foul ball as she was being taken out on a stretcher.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself.
If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
In 1945, a rooster by the name of Mike lived 18 months without a head.
Author Mark Twain was born on the day of the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835. The comet is only visible to Earth every 76 years, and he vowed that he would not die until he saw the famous comet. He died the day after its next appearance in 1910.
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
It takes 12 bees their entire lifetime to make one tablespoon of honey.
And lastly, here’s a funny one: in Hong Kong, the wife of a husband who commits adultery is legally entitled to murder the mistress in any manner she sees fit.
You’re welcome, fellow trivia nerds!
There are a few people/companies I follow who share articles and pieces of work that are much more useful than your average “which celebrity is doing what” offering. There are articles on technology, psychology, parenting, politics, and every other conceivable topic. One of my favorites is an account called “OMG Facts”. If you’re on Twitter, follow them. If you’re not on Twitter, allow me to share some of their interesting little tidbits with you.
There are more bacteria in your mouth than there are people in the world.
The trucking company Elvis Presley worked at as a young man was owned by Frank Sinatra.
A car travelling at 100mph would take more than 29 million years to reach the sun.
On average, 100 people choke on ballpoint pens every year.
It’s estimated that millions of trees are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts and then forget where they hid them.
All the gold ever mined in the world could be molded into a cube 60 feet high and 60 feet wide.
Until President Kennedy was killed, it wasn’t a federal crime to assassinate the President.
The Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport is larger than New York City’s Manhattan Island.
Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he declined.
Disney World generates about 120,000 pounds of garbage every day.
Canada has more lakes that the rest of the world combined.
The weight of a blue whale's tongue is greater than most elephants.
Every single US president has worn glasses.
The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise
their lower eyelids.
Vultures can fly for 6 hours without flapping their wings.
If you put a drop of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
J.K. Rowling is wealthier then the Queen of England.
There are 293 different ways to make change for a dollar.
You're 3 times more likely to be killed in a car accident while driving to buy a lottery ticket than you are to win the jackpot.
It took radio 38 years to hit 50 million users. The internet took 5 years.
India has a Bill of Rights for cows.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln, had a brother who once saved the life of Lincoln’s son.
Literate adults can usually udnretsnad any msseed up stnecene as lnog as the frsit and lsat lteetrs of wdros are in the crrcoet plaecs!
On the old Canadian two dollar bill, there was an American flag flying over the Parliament building.
There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes.
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
A female platypus sweats milk.
A first class (parlor suite) ticket on to the Titanic cost $4,350, which translates into $90,000 in 2009 USD.
Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first couple to be shown in bed together on television, and it wasn't until 1960.
Baseball player Richie Ashburn, in August 1957, hit a fan with a foul ball. A few minutes later, he hit the same fan with another foul ball as she was being taken out on a stretcher.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself.
If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
In 1945, a rooster by the name of Mike lived 18 months without a head.
Author Mark Twain was born on the day of the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835. The comet is only visible to Earth every 76 years, and he vowed that he would not die until he saw the famous comet. He died the day after its next appearance in 1910.
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
It takes 12 bees their entire lifetime to make one tablespoon of honey.
And lastly, here’s a funny one: in Hong Kong, the wife of a husband who commits adultery is legally entitled to murder the mistress in any manner she sees fit.
You’re welcome, fellow trivia nerds!
We Scored
My personal interest in hockey has been fleeting, I’ll admit.
My earliest memory of the game is lying on the couch at my grandparents’ house, eating cinnamon toast and eggnog, and watching Hockey Night in Canada with Grandma after the Tommy Hunter Show. It was a weekly tradition for us, while Grandpa was at the card game. She rooted for the Montreal Canadiens, but I only knew to go for “the red shirts”.
In elementary school, the girls in my class became fans of the Calgary Flames; not because we really liked the team or knew anything about hockey, but because Craig Boudreau was a fan and what Craig Boudreau liked, you could pretty much count on the girls liking, too. I remember tuning into the evening news one night, specifically to see a massive Calgary brawl from the night before. I paid special attention to detail so I would be able to informatively discuss the fight at recess the next day.
While in university, I took a job at the Halifax Metro Center, where I became friends with several players from the Halifax Mooseheads. Because I was working for all their home games, I soon became a fan of Major Junior hockey. When one player, Alex Tanguay, got drafted to the Colorado Avalanche, I took to watching their games and I was hooked. Now that was hockey, when the Sakic-Forseberg-Tanguay line was on the ice.
When my favorite team all but dissolved after the glory days of Colorado’s Northwestern Conference titles and Stanley Cup victories, I didn’t really pay attention to the NHL anymore, or any hockey, period. There have been a few tournaments whose hype had me looking over my shoulder and considering a return to fandom, but never enough to follow through.
Then, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
I hadn’t planned to watch any Olympic events, to tell you the truth. I was put off by the technical glitch that made the climactic moment of the opening ceremonies an awkward spectacle, and after the first few days of less-than-expected success by the Canadian athletes, I was more embarrassed for Canada than eager to tune in to the hoopla.
Still, I was curious. Everyone was so excited for the men’s hockey competition – “Canada is bringing home the gold!” people claimed – that I couldn’t resist. I took over remote control duties and decided we’d watch the Canada vs. USA game. The hockey was less than stellar, but what got me was the crowd. The chanting and screaming, the sea of flag-waving red – it was like no other hockey game I had watched before.
I hadn’t put enough stock in these Olympics on Canadian turf. In the preceding weeks, it brought to mind an overplayed theme song and seemingly never-ending torch relay coverage on the nightly news. But, when push came to shove, I think it ended up meaning more to us than we could have anticipated.
The majority of Canada anxiously watched the gold medal game on Sunday. It was the ultimate match-up: our home-grown athletes, good ol’ boys proudly representing small-town Canada, up against Team USA, who had already beat us the first time around and who stood practically unchallenged in the overall medal standings. This was it, for the broccoli bouquets (not to digress but, um…what was up with those?), the gold, and the glory.
A gold medal game couldn’t have been written more perfectly. Last minute tie, overtime period winner-takes-all, every element was present for the most memorable Olympic hockey final of our lifetime.
And they did it. They could easily have choked and been made to stand with the same heartbroken faces the Americans were sporting with their silver. It could so easily have gone the other way.
But it didn’t. And what a moment it was.
I doubt those boys realize the depth of what they accomplished in Vancouver. I’m sure they’re happy with their medals and proud of their accomplishments, but it was more than that.
That game was not about medal count or perfect play execution, or even about sport, when you really think about it. It was about providing an opportunity for all Canadians to express our national pride. To stand up and wave our flag (while calling ‘nanny-nanny-poo-poo’ at the Americans if we felt like it), without being overly polite or apologizing for our free health care. It was very liberating to give a damn, to be proud of where we live, not just discreetly this time, but with the entire world watching.
I probably won’t start watching hockey again, but I don’t have to. Everything I could have asked for from a hockey experience was fulfilled Sunday night, and it’s a moment I’m thankful for.
My earliest memory of the game is lying on the couch at my grandparents’ house, eating cinnamon toast and eggnog, and watching Hockey Night in Canada with Grandma after the Tommy Hunter Show. It was a weekly tradition for us, while Grandpa was at the card game. She rooted for the Montreal Canadiens, but I only knew to go for “the red shirts”.
In elementary school, the girls in my class became fans of the Calgary Flames; not because we really liked the team or knew anything about hockey, but because Craig Boudreau was a fan and what Craig Boudreau liked, you could pretty much count on the girls liking, too. I remember tuning into the evening news one night, specifically to see a massive Calgary brawl from the night before. I paid special attention to detail so I would be able to informatively discuss the fight at recess the next day.
While in university, I took a job at the Halifax Metro Center, where I became friends with several players from the Halifax Mooseheads. Because I was working for all their home games, I soon became a fan of Major Junior hockey. When one player, Alex Tanguay, got drafted to the Colorado Avalanche, I took to watching their games and I was hooked. Now that was hockey, when the Sakic-Forseberg-Tanguay line was on the ice.
When my favorite team all but dissolved after the glory days of Colorado’s Northwestern Conference titles and Stanley Cup victories, I didn’t really pay attention to the NHL anymore, or any hockey, period. There have been a few tournaments whose hype had me looking over my shoulder and considering a return to fandom, but never enough to follow through.
Then, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
I hadn’t planned to watch any Olympic events, to tell you the truth. I was put off by the technical glitch that made the climactic moment of the opening ceremonies an awkward spectacle, and after the first few days of less-than-expected success by the Canadian athletes, I was more embarrassed for Canada than eager to tune in to the hoopla.
Still, I was curious. Everyone was so excited for the men’s hockey competition – “Canada is bringing home the gold!” people claimed – that I couldn’t resist. I took over remote control duties and decided we’d watch the Canada vs. USA game. The hockey was less than stellar, but what got me was the crowd. The chanting and screaming, the sea of flag-waving red – it was like no other hockey game I had watched before.
I hadn’t put enough stock in these Olympics on Canadian turf. In the preceding weeks, it brought to mind an overplayed theme song and seemingly never-ending torch relay coverage on the nightly news. But, when push came to shove, I think it ended up meaning more to us than we could have anticipated.
The majority of Canada anxiously watched the gold medal game on Sunday. It was the ultimate match-up: our home-grown athletes, good ol’ boys proudly representing small-town Canada, up against Team USA, who had already beat us the first time around and who stood practically unchallenged in the overall medal standings. This was it, for the broccoli bouquets (not to digress but, um…what was up with those?), the gold, and the glory.
A gold medal game couldn’t have been written more perfectly. Last minute tie, overtime period winner-takes-all, every element was present for the most memorable Olympic hockey final of our lifetime.
And they did it. They could easily have choked and been made to stand with the same heartbroken faces the Americans were sporting with their silver. It could so easily have gone the other way.
But it didn’t. And what a moment it was.
I doubt those boys realize the depth of what they accomplished in Vancouver. I’m sure they’re happy with their medals and proud of their accomplishments, but it was more than that.
That game was not about medal count or perfect play execution, or even about sport, when you really think about it. It was about providing an opportunity for all Canadians to express our national pride. To stand up and wave our flag (while calling ‘nanny-nanny-poo-poo’ at the Americans if we felt like it), without being overly polite or apologizing for our free health care. It was very liberating to give a damn, to be proud of where we live, not just discreetly this time, but with the entire world watching.
I probably won’t start watching hockey again, but I don’t have to. Everything I could have asked for from a hockey experience was fulfilled Sunday night, and it’s a moment I’m thankful for.
Common Sense Questions, Part 2
What a difference a week makes.
One minute, MLAs involved in this spending scandal are steadfast that they did nothing wrong, and the next minute they’re loading up trucks with electronics to return to the province in light of the announced forensic audit.
But, before I start spouting off, I feel like I should give credit where credit is due.
Former premier Rodney MacDonald was flagged in the Auditor General’s report for a projector screen and accessories. While many electronics strike me as being extravagant and unnecessary, I wouldn’t say the same about a projector screen, which MacDonald says was used for business presentations. While speaking to a room of 200 people, a Powerpoint presentation pro.bably wouldn’t be all that effective if shown on a 17” laptop screen.
Not only that, but if the projector is still in use by community members, as he claims, instead of collecting dust in his basement or showing midnight screenings of “The Notebook” in his living room, it seems that would qualify as a legitimate expense. Rodney spent far less than most other MLAs, so he gets a pass this time around.
Now, Michel Samson. While I’m not exactly thrilled with one or two of the expenses listed in the report under his name (almost $600 for Bluetooth?), his claim for internet services seemed odd for the AG to have listed as inappropriate. He’s a public servant who needs to keep in touch with constituents and colleagues while in Halifax, so I don’t blame him for claiming his internet service, since it’s not something he would have required if not for his job. As a matter of fact, I don’t even think he should have had to pay that money back.
While I’m at it, I want to give a big shout-out to Bill Estabrooks, our most frugal MLA with a total of less than $2500 spent over the course of the applicable 3-year period examined. His tastes are very bare-bones, by his own admission, as well they should be, considering the state of our province’s economy. Bill Estabrooks is a hard working, accomplished, highly respected MLA; if he can get by with a second-hand desk and filing cabinets from an army surplus store, how necessary is a $650 Mocha chair is to the successful operation of a constituency office? (I’m looking at you, Karen Casey.)
Enough with the kudos.
What’s all this about former MLA Ron Chisolm buying a $750 GPS system? Sure, they’re dandy little accessories to have – if you’re a Geotracker or plan to drive alone to Napa Valley. But Chisolm says he needed one to assist him in finding his way around his constituency. Lamest. Justification. Ever. Someone needs to remind him that his constituency was Guysborough, which I think translates in Gaelic to “place with only two roads”. I’ll give you a shiny quarter if you can find one person from Guysborough who has EVER got lost there.
Unbelievably, even shadier deals went down. Jamie Muir, former cabinet minister from Truro-Bible Hill, claimed a December 31, 2008 invoice for a $1050 television. That was two days after he announced he wouldn’t run in the next election. He says he’s reimbursed taxpayers and plans to keep the TV.
Huh? Is he serious? Did he or did he not take our money and buy himself a TV? I don’t care if he paid the money back. I once got a loan from the Nova Scotia government, and not only did I have to go through an exhaustive application process, but I paid the student loans back in full and was charged hefty interest. Had I stolen the premier’s cheque book to pay Saint Mary’s my tuition, I’d be in jail right now, whether or not I paid the money back.
I find myself wading through the many dozens of examples of inappropriate and excessive spending without any real direction. There are so many angles, so many examples, so many excuses, that it’s become tiresome and frustrating to chronicle any more of them. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the $113 Xbox Dance Dance Revolution game that Len Goucher bought and refuses to explain, but that’s it, I’m done.
I’d like to end this series with quotes from issue 579 of Frank Magazine, since they so eloquently summed up my thoughts better than even I could myself: “Seems after years and years of piling on one expense perk after another… our MLAs never, ever thought they’d get found out.” “…The finger-pointing…the almost Nuremburgesque defense by our three political leaders was pitiful and embarrassing.” “They deserve everything that is coming their way, yes, even handcuffs, if they’re included.”
One minute, MLAs involved in this spending scandal are steadfast that they did nothing wrong, and the next minute they’re loading up trucks with electronics to return to the province in light of the announced forensic audit.
But, before I start spouting off, I feel like I should give credit where credit is due.
Former premier Rodney MacDonald was flagged in the Auditor General’s report for a projector screen and accessories. While many electronics strike me as being extravagant and unnecessary, I wouldn’t say the same about a projector screen, which MacDonald says was used for business presentations. While speaking to a room of 200 people, a Powerpoint presentation pro.bably wouldn’t be all that effective if shown on a 17” laptop screen.
Not only that, but if the projector is still in use by community members, as he claims, instead of collecting dust in his basement or showing midnight screenings of “The Notebook” in his living room, it seems that would qualify as a legitimate expense. Rodney spent far less than most other MLAs, so he gets a pass this time around.
Now, Michel Samson. While I’m not exactly thrilled with one or two of the expenses listed in the report under his name (almost $600 for Bluetooth?), his claim for internet services seemed odd for the AG to have listed as inappropriate. He’s a public servant who needs to keep in touch with constituents and colleagues while in Halifax, so I don’t blame him for claiming his internet service, since it’s not something he would have required if not for his job. As a matter of fact, I don’t even think he should have had to pay that money back.
While I’m at it, I want to give a big shout-out to Bill Estabrooks, our most frugal MLA with a total of less than $2500 spent over the course of the applicable 3-year period examined. His tastes are very bare-bones, by his own admission, as well they should be, considering the state of our province’s economy. Bill Estabrooks is a hard working, accomplished, highly respected MLA; if he can get by with a second-hand desk and filing cabinets from an army surplus store, how necessary is a $650 Mocha chair is to the successful operation of a constituency office? (I’m looking at you, Karen Casey.)
Enough with the kudos.
What’s all this about former MLA Ron Chisolm buying a $750 GPS system? Sure, they’re dandy little accessories to have – if you’re a Geotracker or plan to drive alone to Napa Valley. But Chisolm says he needed one to assist him in finding his way around his constituency. Lamest. Justification. Ever. Someone needs to remind him that his constituency was Guysborough, which I think translates in Gaelic to “place with only two roads”. I’ll give you a shiny quarter if you can find one person from Guysborough who has EVER got lost there.
Unbelievably, even shadier deals went down. Jamie Muir, former cabinet minister from Truro-Bible Hill, claimed a December 31, 2008 invoice for a $1050 television. That was two days after he announced he wouldn’t run in the next election. He says he’s reimbursed taxpayers and plans to keep the TV.
Huh? Is he serious? Did he or did he not take our money and buy himself a TV? I don’t care if he paid the money back. I once got a loan from the Nova Scotia government, and not only did I have to go through an exhaustive application process, but I paid the student loans back in full and was charged hefty interest. Had I stolen the premier’s cheque book to pay Saint Mary’s my tuition, I’d be in jail right now, whether or not I paid the money back.
I find myself wading through the many dozens of examples of inappropriate and excessive spending without any real direction. There are so many angles, so many examples, so many excuses, that it’s become tiresome and frustrating to chronicle any more of them. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the $113 Xbox Dance Dance Revolution game that Len Goucher bought and refuses to explain, but that’s it, I’m done.
I’d like to end this series with quotes from issue 579 of Frank Magazine, since they so eloquently summed up my thoughts better than even I could myself: “Seems after years and years of piling on one expense perk after another… our MLAs never, ever thought they’d get found out.” “…The finger-pointing…the almost Nuremburgesque defense by our three political leaders was pitiful and embarrassing.” “They deserve everything that is coming their way, yes, even handcuffs, if they’re included.”
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