September 10, 2012

Hi there! What's up? I spent most of Saturday rearranging the living room. I got this cute little white bench with heart cutouts in the top. The seat opens up for storage & it's now in out living room, behind my seat, holding yarn (what else would I put in it?). We did some major housecleaning over the weekend. I removed the center section of the sectional sofa because although it look great in the showroom, it BARELY fit in our small living room. So, I removed it & we have so much more space in there now! Now it's just my seat on 1 side & the sofa on the other side with a coffee table in between. While I was moving stuff around, I did a major de-cobwebbing, sweeping, mopping, dusting, etc. Pete took that & ran with it & did spring (fall) cleaning of his own around the house. It looks great! Sunday wasn't as exciting. Pete's fall cleaning carried over & that's what he spent much of the day doing, while Kyle & I argued. You see, I used to split the chores 4 ways (Pete, myself, Eve, & Kyle). Then Josh moved in & I was able to split it 5 ways. Quick & easy for everyone as we each had less to do now. Then Josh & Eve moved out leaving me to split it 3 ways. Pete's been extremely busy at work for a while now, so I had to remove him from the setup, leaving just Kyle & I. Well, Kyle now works, goes to school, does him homework, & is getting straight A's. He couldn't possibly do chores 6 days out of 7, leaving me to do them alone. Then on the 7th day, he lied to me. He came into my office while I was still sleeping, & marked most of his chores off my white board. When I woke up, I checked the 1st one, the most important one, & he hadn't done it at all. I don't mean he did it but it was a terrible job, I mean he didn't even get near it. That's when the fights started. I finally just removed him from the setup too & now I'm all kinds of angry because I'm left to do all the daily chores by myself, 24/7/365. That's expected if you live ALONE, but there are 3 people in this house & now I'm going to be constantly ragging on EVERYONE for leaving doors open, lights on, plates & silverware on the table like this is some diner & a waitress is going to come behind them & clean up ... yeah, it's going to be fun around here. If I'm cleaning up all by myself, heads are going to roll every time someone doesn't close the cabinet door, turn off the light, & put their plate in the sink when they're done. You know the old saying .. If mama ain't happy ... . Last night I knitted another panel on the afghan & then played one of the houses I built that's in Bridgeport. My 2nd generation Sim, Nikki just aged up into a a grade school kid & hasn't even gone to her 1st day of school yet. Mom is going to have a birthday within hours of whenever I play next & she's about to become elderly which is when I'm nice & let that Sim retire from work & relax for their remaining life span. Well, I'm making an exception in this case. Mom is THIS CLOSE to becoming level 10 of her career as a rock star which will produce a limo that we get to keep & fulfill her lifetime wish. She's ONE DAY at work away from this, so having her retire ONE DAY before hitting the top would be stupid. Of course I don't know when I'm going to play this particular game again, so I made a note about this on the sheet for this game so I don't forget the next time I open it up. Usually the birthday party is immediately followed by that retirement phone call. Nice line in the notes: * DON'T RETIRE YET! * Anyway, Nikki, the daughter has the disciplined trait which means she'll probably be a martial artist when she grows up. She's going to spend her days training while her future husband (haven't met him yet) goes out & earns a living to pay the bills.

Milligan Water meeting tonight.

Chairman Mao dies (1976):

On this day in 1976, Chinese revolutionary and statesman Mao Zedong, who had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and other health problems, dies in Beijing at the age of 82. The Communist leader and founder of the People's Republic of China is considered one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.

Mao was born into a peasant family in the village of Shaoshan in China's Hunan province on December 26, 1893. During the 1911 Revolution, he was a soldier in the revolutionary army, which eventually defeated the Qing Dynasty. After serving in the army, he resumed his education and eventually moved to Beijing, where he studied Marxist social and political thought. In 1921, he attended the first session of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which was held in Shanghai. He went on to found the Hunan branch of the CCP and organize workers' strikes. Marxism held that cultural revolution would be brought about by urban workers; however, Mao came to believe that China's millions of peasants were the key to change.

In 1934, during his long civil war with Chiang Kai-Shek and his nationalist government, Mao broke through enemy lines and led his followers on the Long March, a trek of some 6,000 miles to northern China. There, he built up his Red Army and fought against the Japanese invaders. In 1945, civil war resumed, and in 1949 the Nationalists were defeated. On October 1, 1949, Mao proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Under Mao's leadership, the Communist Party took control of China's media and executed its political enemies, including business owners, landlords, former government officials and intellectuals. In 1958, Mao launched the Great Leap Forward, an economic initiative aimed at boosting the country's agricultural and industrial production. The program involved the establishment of large farming communes, which would free up more workers for industrial jobs. Instead, the plan failed as grain production declined and millions of Chinese died due to famine. In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, in an attempt to wipe out China's old customs and ideas, promote Mao's teachings and purge the Communist party of his political enemies. Mao urged students and other young people to join the Red Guards, who in turn shut down schools, churches, temples and museums and tortured or killed academics and other authority figures who were viewed as capitalists and anti-revolutionaries. The Cultural Revolution resulted in widespread chaos and civil unrest.

Despite these failures, Mao maintained fanatical followers all across China and, as the founder of modern China, remains one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. After his death, Deng Xiaoping emerged as China's leader. Today, Mao's embalmed remains are housed in a mausoleum in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Chill foods & beverages before you pack them in the cooler to keep them cold longer.

Determine the most important task you need to accomplish for the day. If you know your priorities at the beginning of the day then you're more likely to make good decisions to support your priorities throughout the day.

Ghost Rider:

You're wild at heart, and you know it. Whether you're tearing down the highway on your bike, diving out of a plane at 10,000 feet, or catching a wave in shark infested water - the Sacrificial stainless steel ring will be along for the ride. With a sleek steel design this pipe band styled ring displays a wildly grinning Flam'in skull - a symbol of daring and the fleetingness of life. Life is an adventure and you know that Nothing Ventured means Nothing Gained. Show off that attitude with this unique Flamin' skull ring.

Halle Berry wins Emmy for Dandridge (2000):

On this day in 2000, Halle Berry wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of the actress Dorothy Dandridge in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Dandridge, the star of 1954’s Carmen Jones, was the first African-American performer to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actress category. In 2002, Berry became the first African American to win the Best Actress Oscar, for her performance in Monster’s Ball.

Dorothy Dandridge was born on November 9, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, she performed in a touring act with her sister. Her feature film career began in the mid-1930s. While she made a number of movies, her roles were fairly limited due to her race. In 1954, Dandridge appeared in the movie musical Carmen Jones, which was directed by Otto Preminger and featured an all-black cast that included Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll. Dandridge received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in the title role. (At the time, only one African American woman had ever received an Academy Award: Hattie McDaniel won in the Best Supporting Actress category for 1939’s Gone with the Wind.) Dandridge lost the Oscar to Grace Kelly, who won that year for her performance in The Country Girl. Dandridge endured a number of tragedies in her personal life and eventually suffered a nervous breakdown. She died on September 8, 1965, at the age of 42, from an accidental drug overdose.

Dandridge was largely forgotten by the entertainment industry until the 1980s, when prominent black actresses began to speak publicly about her legacy. In 1999, Halle Berry portrayed Dandridge in the HBO biopic. Berry, who was born on August 14, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio, is a former beauty queen whose breakout film role was her portrayal of a drug addict in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever (1991). She went on to star in such movies as Losing Isaiah (1995), Bulworth (1998), X-Men (2000), Die Another Day (2002) and Gothika (2003). Berry received the Best Actress Oscar for her role as the wife of an executed murderer in Monster’s Ball (2001), co-starring Billy Bob Thornton. She remains the only African-American actress to win the award.

Marmoreal:

Of, relating to, or suggestive or marble or a marble statue, especially in coldness or aloofness.

His admirers describe his playing as seamless, elegant, marmoreal.

Most marble-related words in English were chiseled from the Latin noun marmor, meaning "marble." Marmor gave rise to "marble" in the 12th century. It's also the parent or "marmoreal," which has been used in English since the mid-1600s. "Marbleize," another marmor descendant, came later, making its print debut around 1859.

Midday naps lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart attack, & increase your ability to learn & be alert later in the day. Why not treat yourself to a nap this weekend?

There's nothing wrong with being 23 & at home unless there's no end in sight. Young eagles need to spread their wings & use those muscles. There's dignity in being on your own. It's called maturing. Parents, sit down with your at-home child & work out a gentle but inevitable plan for launch.

TVFoodMaps:

TVFoodMaps allows you to find, track and hopefully eat at the restaurants you see on your favorite Food Network and Travel shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Man v. Food, Best Thing I Ever Ate, No Reservations, Top Chef and more. With 25 shows and over 2600 restaurants TVFoodMaps is the most comprehensive list of restaurants seen on TV you can find in a single app. TVFoodMaps provides menus and videos for many of the restaurants and allow you to add them to your personal Try List or comment on places you’ve been.
Our premium upgrade removes all ads and provides two additional features; you can browse restaurants by show AND get location based notifications when you are near a restaurants seen on TV. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
For a full list of restaurants featured check our website http://www.tvfoodmaps.com
If you have any issues with this app please contact us directly at tvfoodmaps@gmail.com - we will work to fix all issues.
List of shows:
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
Man v. Food
Man Vs Food Nation
Adam Richman's Best Sandwich
Bizarre Foods America
Invention Hunters
Restaurant Impossible
Top Chef
The Best Thing I Ever Ate
Crave
Drinking Made Easy
No Reservations
Sugar High
Unique Eats
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
Meat And Potatoes
Celebrity Chef's
Outrageous Food
Heat Seekers
Cupcake Wars
Food Paradise
Rachael Ray - $40 a Day
America's Best
Food Wars
Food Feuds

What prize did tennis great Margaret Court receive when she won the first of her 11 Australian singles championships in 1960?

What was the original candy-inspired name of ex-lax, the chocolate-flavored laxative packaged in tablet form?

Bo-Bo. The name was intended to sound like bon-bon.

Which animal has the most, 2nd most, & 3rd most teeth?

A. Cow

B. Dog

C. Cat

Who is the only actor to win Emmys for portraying the same TV character in both a sitcom and a dramatic series?

Ed Asner. He won three Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for playing TV news director Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and two Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for playing newspaper editor Grant in the spin-off Lou Grant.

You find it quite easy to __________, which makes you seem much __________ than a __________ ought to be.

You're the guest when someone sends you an invitation to dinner at a restaurant: Don't complain about the food or service. Sounding dissatisfied could make it appear that you're unappreciative of your host's efforts & that you question his taste in restaurants.