The Circus

I was fortunate enough to attend Ringling Brother's Greatest Show on Earth last night for the third consecutive year.  I must say, the theme was weak, but the music was wonderful.  The animal performances were far better than last year.

The ringmaster did a spectacular job of flipping his hat, twirling his cape, and bellowing into the microphone.  My only complaint would be that the choreography often had him lost amidst the dancing girls, and tumbling clowns.  I don't think adults had a hard time following him, but from my little nieces perspective, I bet looking at the three rings was often like staring at a Where's Waldo picture. 

The animals stole the show this year, in my opinion.  FIFTEEN tigers, all fat and sassy, took the spotlight right after intermission.  When they sat up on their hind legs and showed their bellies, I almost died laughing, picturing my fat cat Kia sitting in a similar "fat old man" position the night before.  The fact that the trainer is bilingual, and communicates with the cats in Spanish only adds to the allure of the act.

The elephants were also amazing.  Anyone that criticizes Ringling Brothers should have seen the joy in these animals faces as they showed us what they could do.  The ponies also did a much better job than in previous years, and the zebras were awesome to watch.   I did not miss the puppies, given that last year they were more interested in chasing each other than doing what their trainer bid.

I loved the trapeze artists, as well.  We were finally fortunate enough, on our third try, to pick seats on the right side of the stadium so that the trapeze act was literally right over our heads.  I loved the enthusiasm of the performers.  Even though I had seen all of the tricks before, they felt new to me because of the flair with which the moves were pulled off.

Sadly, the clowns were funny, but couldn't get the crowd into their antics for some reason.  The side of the stadium that we were on seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed that day.  At least the other side seemed to respond politely.  I did miss my favorite clown, Bibi.  But every clown needs a break, and I am sure whatever he is learning for next year will be worth the wait.  

I also missed the screens and light effects from last year, and thought the glow-in-the-dark costumes were only moderately entertaining, having seen them at multiple other performances over the years.   I would also like to see the band wheeled out some how to acknowledge the fact that most of the music is performed live.  I know my husband was surprised to learn it was not being fed into the speakers electronically. 

Overall, we had a grand time and cannot wait until the train pulls into town again.

The Death Penalty

My position on the death penalty is unique.  I am not opposed to killing convicted felons who do not deny their guilt.  But I am firmly against taking the life of any individual who proclaims innocence.  I am sure future stories will provide the opportunity for me to delve further into this viewpoint.  But, for now, I would like to change the focus of this post to what prompted me to start this thread.

On every news site I have visited this morning, I have found the same thing: a headline proclaiming Anneliese MacPhail's desire to see the execution of Troy Davis take place because of the peace his death will bring her.  I think this logic is twisted, and Ms. MacPhail is going to be sorely disappointed.  How can the death of another human being be enough to compensate for her son?  Mr. Davis's death isn't going to bring her child back.  Instead, his death is only going to inflict more suffering on Mr. Davis's family, also innocent bystanders in this nightmare.  Instead of peace, I am afraid Ms. MacPhail will be filled with guilt, remorse, and the same seemingly endless emptiness that only forgiveness can alleviate.

Abortion

I am 100% pro-choice.  The purpose of this post isn't to identify the already-well-known arguments people of my persuasion put forth to defend a woman's right to choose.  It is to catalog interesting articles I find on the subject.  Like this one, from Time.com:  The U.K.'s Conservative Government Defends Abortion.  This quote in particular caught my eye:

"Why isn't abortion more of an issue in a country that is 40% Catholic? Diane Abbott, the Shadow Health Minister explained to cheers: “The absence of a Fox News pumping out social propaganda 24 hours a day and British common sense.”

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Say No to Unions

The United States Postal Service may stop delivering mail by the end of this year.  If it cannot find a way to balance its bursting budget, employees will not be paid, and fuel tanks on delivery trucks will not get filled.

The reasons why USPS is in so much trouble are twofold.  The first culprit is the ridiculous requirements of the postal workers union's contract, which prevents cutting labor regardless of the financial consequences.  To comprehend how devastating to a business this can be, one must only look at the following comparison:

"Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors."

This calculation is startling.  Especially given the reality of the internet age.  More transactions are occurring online everyday.   In fact, postal deliveries are down 22% over the past 5 years, and are projected to continue declining.

Given these statistics, any semi-intelligent business person would recommend cutting labor costs.  But, because of the postal workers union's "no lay-offs" clause, it is impossible to rectify the situation.  What irritates me the most about this scenario is that the people in these unions would rather see their entire enterprise fail, then any of their coworkers laid off.  Do they not get that if the post offices all close, everyone will be jobless?

Archaic laws limiting the ability of the post master general to implement cost controls is also partly to blame.  Without the ability to raise stamp prices, alter delivery schedules, or add other services to the failing offices, his or her hands are tied.  It would take an act of Congress to change the law, and we all know how likely that is in this divided political climate.

(Source of stats:  NYT:  Postal Service on Verge of going broke, shutting down, by Steven Greenhouse, 9/5/2011)
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The situation at USPS reminds me of the drama that unfolded in Wisconsin recently.  Teachers went to bat for the benefits promised in their ancient contracts, without taking into account today's dire economic reality.  Private sector employers cut the kind of benefits promised to many union members over a decade ago.  By refusing to cooperate, and modify clauses that would hurt everyone a little, union members are making choices that have the potential to hurt everyone a lot. 

Watch what you Tweet!

Having just read the story of a man accused of terrorism for tweeting misinformation about a school shootings in Mexico, I must say my mind is reeling.  Though I believe the charge is far too trumped up, I also believe he should be held accountable for spreading mass panic.  Regardless of whether he initiated the rumors or simply spread them, he did so without any first hand knowledge of the events.  Furthermore, he didn't even bother to clarify his suspicions by simply turning on the television or radio.

I do not think jail time is warranted.  Calling him a terrorist only serves to nullify the horribleness associated with the term.  And I do not think Mr. Vera acted alone.  I believe he was simply one of many spreading the lie that resulted in 26 car crashes.

The right punishment should involve a modest fine, and possibly a permanent label on Twitter revealing Mr. Vera's, and his fellow accomplices, willingness to propagate false information.  Maybe a "Cry Wolf" or "Sky is Falling" icon. 

In the end, as viewers of the internet's vast stores of information, it is up to us as consumers to always remember to take everything we read with a grain of salt. 

Sound Off II

6/21
'Money blurts' help drive fundraising  (Yahoo News, by Dan Eggen & T.W. Farnam, 6/19/2011)

I have just encountered a new term being tossed around in the media to describe the incendiary, controversial comments politicians spew in the hopes of garnering donations:  money blurts.  These supposedly impulsive outbursts can range from disrespectful interruptions of Presidential addresses, to memorable one-liners used in speeches and tv appearances.

I have many problems with this tactic.  First, the seemingly impromptu statements are all-too-often pre-planned campaign ploys.  I have nothing against well choreographed, grass roots fundraising.  But call it what it is.  Most Americans are not stupid,* and don't appreciate the cheap shots politicians have been taking to gain a monetary  advantage over their competitors. 

Second, these suggestions can be dangerous.  Requesting that constituents ready their weapons for a political battle, for example, could be seen by militant groups as a true call to arms.

Third, these controversial ideas are often against the spirit of our Constitution, or downright untrue.  Calling Obama a Muslim was a sound bite I heard all too often during the last Presidential campaign season.  There is no way the speakers didn't know Obama was a Christian, but he or she knew spewing this "controversial" lie would sit well with some donors.

In summary, money blurts may seem like a fantastic way for a candidate to get a temporary boost.  But intelligent Americans will see through the charades, and never vote for someone willing to lie and cheat to win.*

*Hopefully
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6/22

Probably the first cool thing to ever come out of Canada is the new polymer money featured in the video at the top of this article.   Not only does it look awesome, it also virtually impossible to counterfeit.  And, once it is taken out of circulation, it can be recycled into other useful products.  Go Canada!
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6/26

Not everyone is cut out for college.  Many youth recognize this at a much earlier age than we may realize.  I remember knowing that I loved school the first time I attended.  My husband, on the other hand, hated it.  For me, going to college was a joyful experience; a transformation of my mind.  For my husband, it was a nightmare that took six years, and garnered little more than major headaches.  Still, because of the value our society currently places on a four year degree, he could not have the career he had without it.

That is why I found this quote so compelling:  "According to Harvard's "Pathways" report, the United States needs a school system that establishes career options for students as early as middle school. The options should specify the coursework and the training students will need. This approach will enable students, along with their parents, to map pathways toward the work they seek."  (The high cost of our obsession with four-year colleges)

This should include an expansion of our technical college system, as well as a major re-evaluation of such schools' prestige in the eyes of our nation.  There is nothing wrong with taking two years of courses to be a solar panel expert, or a wind farm technician.  Our sole focus on the four year bachelors degree is out dated, and holding us back in this highly technical age we find ourselves living in.

Let's go back to the example of my husband for a moment.  In high school, his first job was selling newspapers.  He fell in love with the sales process, and managing a sales team, by the time he graduated the twelfth grade.  Wouldn't two years focused on honing the skills involved in a career as a sales manager have been more beneficial to him than a four year liberal arts degree that didn't include even one class about selling or managing?  His current employer would not have even considered his resume without the bachelors degree, however.
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6/29

My husband and I watched a television show last night about people who are preparing for doomsday by stockpiling food, readying hazard suits, and even building underground bunkers.  It was a National Geographic special that absolutely blew my mind.  Beyond the fact that these folks are rather pessimistic about our country's, and the worlds, future, they posses brilliant ideas that could help us all live more efficiently, and even avoid the doomsday they anticipate. 

The first family featured turned their entire back yard into a giant science fair project on sustainable living.  Only, this demonstration is so good that it is actually feeding all four of them, and could continue to do so without outside help for the foreseeable future  Granted, they eat a lot of tilapia.  And the fact that they live in the middle of the dessert makes their belief that they could somehow continue to thrive indefinitely without their home, even with the best survival skills, seem ridiculous.  Overall, I respect their ingenuity so much that I could get over the solar-flares-are-going-scorch-us theory long enough to want to chat with the father for a while. 

The other family's were equally interesting.  The lady who believes hyper-inflation could be disastrous for the U.S. is not too off base, I fear.  Only stock-piling beans and palettes of Hormel chili seems far too extreme to be worth the time or money.  I would rather shoot myself than eat an entire palette of canned anything!

To check out two clips from the show, click on this link.

Superstitions

 Cursed number "39" haunts Afghan car owners  (Yahoo News via Reuters, by Hamid Shalizi, 6/15/2011)

Whenever I hear someone mention the number 13, I can't help but shiver.  It has been drilled into my brain from such a young age that the number brings bad luck, that I can't suppress the response, even though I realize I am being superstitious.

In Afghanistan, the number 39 is suddenly gaining steam as the latest symbol to exude negative connotations.  Suddenly, if there is a 39 on your license plate, you are considered a pimp.  Though some American men may covet the title, the idea of being a "pimp" in Afghanistan's conservative Muslim society has real world, negative repercussions. 

Whether the idea originated because of an Iranian pimp who drives around in a luxury car nicknamed "39," or as a result of a police scheme to earn money is interesting to consider.  But what really makes my mind stew is how fast the superstition formed, and traveled.   It makes me wonder if other cultural idiosyncrasies developed in a similar, exponentially expanding manner.
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Hilarious

What do you get when you mix Peanuts comics with random Twitter messages?  Absolute hilarity.  Check it out here.
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6/16

The Peoria Chiefs are holding 'LeBron James 2011 NBA Championship Replica Ring Giveaway' night this evening.  They may even skip the fourth inning in honor of the choking that took place during the final minutes of each game.  You can read about the event here.  Hilarious!
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9/8/2011

I have heard of folks feeding their pets beer.  I even remember a Judge Judy case about a drunken dog.  But an inebriated moose stuck in a tree?  This one you have to see to believe:  Rescuers free drunken moose stuck in tree.

Gender

Parents keep child's gender under wraps  (The Lookout, by Zachary Roth, 5/24/2011)

Reading the above linked story made me reminisce about my summer afternoons at the local park as a youth.  If I had been given a choice, with no guidance from my parents, nor pressure from my friends, and no slight, but present, understanding of societies norms from Sesame Street, I would have played in the sandbox with the boys instead of jumping rope with the girls.  But, hearing my mom say, "you can play in the sandbox, but pretty little girls practice double dutch," and my older neighbor girlfriend remind that "getting dirty is yucky," I generally chose to jump rope. 

Looking back, I wish my mother had phrased her warning differently.  But I would never have wanted no guidance at all.  As a child, there is no way I would have known that American society thinks jumping rope is a more feminine activity than playing in the sand.  Which makes me wonder how poor Jazz, from the story above, was suppose to know pink is a color associated with girls, and avoiding haircuts is a bad idea if you want people to think you are a boy.

And now Jazz's family has decided to forgo gender roles altogether for their newborn.  I appreciate their progressive stance against gender stereotyping, but the way to go about ending it is not to send uninformed, unprotected children into the harsh world.  We are a long way from the utopia the parents envision.

I would suggest supporting a child's INFORMED decisions.  Let the child choose which clothing they want to wear, but go into the store as a leader, not the follower of a five year old.  Say, "This is the little boys section, this is the little girls section.  Where should we go?"   Let the child choose the kind of haircuts they want, but make sure they know the consequences.  If a boy still wants long hair after being told folks may think he looks like a girl, support him.  But don't let him make that decision without having a clear understanding of the repercussions.  Society is harsh, and kids are mean.

Go Your Own Way

I created this thread so that I have a place to store stories about folks willing to follow their own path, regardless of the critics. 

The first entry is about the pointy boot fad that hit Mexico's rodeo scene about a year ago.  It is not the elaborately decorated footwear, so much as the male youth willing to wear it, that make this entry special.  I couldn't imagine American teens wearing pink, sparkly boots dancing on stage.

You can read about the cowboy-initiated fashion statement here.

Beading

It is insane to me that an object used for beauty of glitz in one culture signifies rape, pedophilia, and infanticide in another.  Until I came across this article on CNN.com, I had never heard of the Kenyan practice of beading.  Now, I will never look at a beaded necklace the same. 

In a nutshell, a man places a beaded necklace around the neck of a girl as young as 6, effectively claiming her as his personal sex slave.  If she becomes pregnant, she is expected to abort the fetus, allow it to be killed after birth, or given away.

Defenders of the practice claim that it prevents young girls from being promiscuous.  But I am certain the results would be less traumatic on the girls if they were allowed their sexual freedom.  The society as a whole would also benefit.  Pregnancies would still occur.   But the risk of birth defects would decrease, because many times the rapists are direct relatives of their victims.  Granted, these babies are often killed, the ones given to friends or neighbors, or to orphanages probably suffer needlessly from genetic disorders. 

But all of these facts that seem so clear to me would not make any sense to the Samburu tribe.  Their vocabulary doesn't include terms like "genetic" or "infanticide."  I give so much credit to Kulea for standing up against the traditions of her homeland.  I know from experience how difficult this can be.  Your family and friends shun you for going against everything everyone has believed in for generations.  Hopefully, her hard work will open the eyes of others to join the fight against a practice that sounds wonderful at first glance, until you actually read about it. 

Live Nation & Groupon

Why didn't I hear about this from either of these companies?

"In another sign of where the market is moving, Groupon announced Monday it is teaming up with Live Nation to form Groupon Live, which will offer discount tickets for concerts and entertainment."*

I am on both of their E-mailing list, and would consider this HUGE news as a music lover who is flat broke most of the time.  I wonder if the merger will affect concert prices for this summer's line-up.   I will have to keep track of this topic in the news, and update this post with any info I find!

*Coupon industry getting crowded for users

Competition - Is it Really Good for Consumers?

The Market Can't cure Medicare  (Time, by Bill Saporito, 5/2/2011)

I read the above linked article in my hard-copy of Time, and couldn't get it out of my head.  So I decided to find it online, to share with my faithful readers.  The title is deceiving; though the author does focus on Medicare in the intro and conclusion, the main bulk of the text is actually an examination of competition.  Namely, he is discrediting the idea that having multiple companies compete for your business actually drives down prizes all of the time.

Airlines, gas companies, cable and satellite providers, soda makers, and computer operating system producers are all examples of industries where competition has not had a direct impact in creating price wars that benefit the consumer.  On the contrary, some companies, like Comcast and AT&T seem to raise their prices together, and laugh all the way to the bank.

So, I decided to start keeping track of instances where competition doesn't seem to have much of an effect on price.  This thread will be a great place to list the industries I think of.  And I already have one to add to my list:  Vitamins.  I find it incredible that condensed cranberry supplements, and garlic tabs can cost a quarter a piece!

Secondly, make-up and body products.  My last two trips to Ulta did enough to convince me that perfume makers, and "prestige" make-up manufacturers are on to something big.  I will admit that there is a HUGE quality difference in some make-up necessities, such as foundation and mascara.  However, eyeshadow and lip gloss are pretty much the same regardless of whether you pay $5 or $25. 

We Are Too Fat

This thread is going to be a place for me to stash away articles related to America's obesity epidemic.  Specifically, I am interested in how society is adapting to our growing body size.  The first article demonstrates this perfectly: 

America's ballooning obesity problem has reached the decks of Chicago tour boats

This fact startled me:  "After two vessels sank in the U.S. in the mid-2000s, the Coast Guard began evaluating weight capacities on boats and determined per-person limits didn't account for the increase in weight of the average American."

Imagine being on a boat with a bunch of obese people who refuse to spread out.  I wonder if they could sue for being told to move to the opposite end.   
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5/19


Should airlines offer larger seats for fat passengers?  That is the question posed at the end of this article, about an overweight woman's experience with Southwest Airlines.  Both the woman and her fat mother were asked to purchase an additional ticket before boarding their flight on Easter.  


The policy at Southwest seems simple enough to me.  If any part of your body hangs over the armrest, you are too fat for one seat.  Sure, I feel bad for the lady because she was treated so rudely.  But, having had to sit next to overly obese folks in multiple situations before, I think it is only fair to question their ability to fit.  It is just like checking a short persons height before letting them board a roller coaster.  


Now, as to the article's ending question: Should airlines build seats to accommodate the people of the world's expanding waistlines?  I think this would be a great idea.  But, just like those seats with extra leg room, these "extra capacity" seats should cost a little more.  Maybe if these seats were added, we would have less "I was harassed by the airline for being too fat," stories hitting the news every couple months. 

Save the Anchovies!

I love reading about our world's most unexplored places, like the depths of the ocean.  I try to keep up on the latest climate news as well.  That is why I was shocked to learn that the world's small fish populations are not doing as well as we had thought.  According to an article from New Scientist by Debora Mackenzie,* our belief that anchovies and other tiny species will always thrive due to their great birth numbers and short gestation period is causing them to actually decline.  Their supposed safety has led to few research dollars going towards studying them, and thus no real management is taking place.

Knowledge is power,  If we can spread the word that our favorite pizza topping to hate is not as safe as we thought, perhaps we can save the anchovy from further danger.

*Stay of execution for world's fish stock

Murder, She Wrote: Review

I finally finished the hidden object game Murder, She Wrote. Based on the popular tv mystery series, the game was superior to all detective games I have played thus far. 

The clips between scenes made me feel like I was actually participating in an episode of the show.  The hidden objects were usually easy to find, but each scene had a puzzle as well, which were often challenging.  Each scene also had extras to find, in this case the vowel keys from Jessica Fletcher's typewriter.  One of my only complaints about the game was the lack of any recognition for getting all of these little tidbits throughout the games five cases. 

Most hidden object games don't last me very long.  I beat them too quickly.  This game lasted me nearly a week, which I greatly appreciated.  Overall, I would rate Murder, She Wrote a 9.5 out of 10.  I absolutely loved it, and would recommend it to anyone.

Priceless

Every once in a while, I come across a story that has me saying just one word: priceless.  This morning, I came across a perfect example:  Maryland man glued to Wal-Mart toilet seat.  Enjoy!

Merv Griffin's Crosswords: Review

For the longest time, I have seen Merv Grffin's Crosswords listed as an option under Puzzle Games on my Best Buy / Oberon website.  I finally decided to check it out.   Having spent a large portion of my weekend testing it, I am so mad I waited so long to play such a great game! 

There are hundreds of puzzles, about ten levels of difficulty to unlock, and some cool achievements to try to meet.  The worldwide score keeper is not working, but individual high scores can be submitted to the games memory. 

The gameplay is very basic and the backgrounds are bland, but it is not meant to be a glitzy, graphics display.  There are some complaints I would like to see fixed in future editions, such as  the poor view of the overall puzzle, the long period prizes are displayed with no way to click them off, and the terrible music.  But these shortcomings are minor in comparison to the fun I have been experiencing as I play this game.

Having never watched the TV show, there were some surprises in store for me.   My frustration after hitting a "spoiler" for the first time should have been caught on camera.  The all-or-nothing gamble involved in the "Crossword Extra's" made for some desperate yells for help to my husband. 

On a scale of 1-10, I would give Merv Griffin's Crosswords a 9. I imagine that I will get hundreds of hours of fun out of this game for the $6.95 I paid. 

Kuros: Review

I finally completed the puzzle game "Kuros" that I have been working on for a while.  It is a game that combines hidden object, shape Sudoku, and other types of puzzles in an epic storyline every fantasy lover will enjoy.

I loved almost every aspect of this game.  From the amazing graphics, to the great voice-overs; the labyrinth-style ball game, to the mad search for ingredients; the silver lily field, to the book-chute in the library; a great surprise awaited me as I entered each new world.  I can tell the creators of this game put a lot of thought into every detail.  Furthermore, the overall level of creativity was superior to anything I have played in a long time.

The level of difficulty was perfect: challenging, but not impossible.  I tried not to use hints, and can't remember for certain, but believe I never had to cheat to beat the game.  Although I did walk away from certain puzzles for hours to days sometimes.

My complaints I can count on one hand.  Some of the scenes were hard to get out of (i.e. finding the arrow on the edge of the screen to move to a new scene was difficult).  Tracing the glyphs seemed to work great sometimes, and glitchy others.  Finally, the order of  "new game" and "continue" when you initially hit start could confuse the over-exuberant (like me).  I ended up having to start over because I clicked the top option, assuming it was continue, not new game.  I was wrong.

Overall, I would give Kuros a 9 out of 10.  I can't wait for another adventure with Kataya to come out so I can safe the world from Viktor, and protect the glyphstones!

Hidden World of Art

About a week ago, I began playing the hidden object game called "Hidden World of Art."  I love art, and paintings in particular, so was thrilled to find a game devoted to the topic.  Plus, the variety offered by the various kinds of puzzles (find the differences, pairs, etc.) seemed right up my alley.

I wasn't disappointed.  The scenes themselves were all real works by famous artists, and finding the objects was was difficult, but not impossible.  I was upset the couple of times the thing I was seeking was hidden too close to the edges to be visible, but overall was pleased with the pictures.

When I was done "restoring" each work, a ranking was given based on missed clicks, time, and use of hints, which is always a nice touch.

Being able to view completed works in the gallery was also cool, seeing as there were a couple I would love to buy the prints of someday.

My biggest complaint was the terrible translation of the dialogue scenes.  I would be willing to bet this game was released in French first, because some of the speech bubbles art connoisseurs had were hilarious.

Overall, I would rate "Hidden World of Art" an 7.5 out of 10.  I will probably play it again someday when I spot it amongst my game list, but will not be raving about it a week from now.

Criminals

 Help Wanted  (MSNBC, by Zachary Roth 3/23/2011)

According to the article linked above, one in four Americans has a criminal record.  Many companies exclude anyone with a crime on record from even applying for a job.  This infuriates me.  How are these folks suppose to stay away from illegal activities to survive if we won't hire them for jobs at places like Dominoes Pizza?  It is like we are forcing folks to be repeat offenders by continuing these outrageous, discriminatory practices.  Once a persons debt to society is paid, there is no reason someone should be kept from employment at any company.  I do feel different about sex offenders, but folks who were busted in their twenties for drug paraphernalia should not be penalized in their thirties after a decade of good behavior.  These companies with disclaimers like "people with misdemeanors need not apply," should be prosecuted themselves!
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4/7
Prison spending bleeds education system  (CNN, by Todd Jealous and Rod Paige, 4/7/2011)

From 1987 to 2007, more than a million inmates were added to the prison system, more than tripling the population. "During the last two decades, state spending on prisons grew by 127%, six times the rate of spending on higher education."  

Why?  I believe the authors hit the nail on the head:  "The rise in America's penchant for punishment can be traced back to the 1970s, as the "War on Poverty" gave way to the "War on Drugs" and policymakers embraced stricter sentences for drug offenders. Since then, we have spent tens of billions to incarcerate people who struggle with drug addiction and mental health challenges, or are simply jobless or lack education."

A vicious cycle is formed.  Once in prison, so many doors on the outside slam permanently shut, as demonstrated by the "Help Wanted" post above.  With no were else to turn for money, drug addicts become thieves.  Instead of curbing crime, the War on Drugs has exacerbated it. 

Oberon Media

I would like to take the time to tell you about a company that deserves recognition.  For the past two years or so, I have been playing hidden picture and puzzle games on my computer.  It is a great way to keep my mind off of how my body is feeling, and to test my mind's capacity for problem solving.  The first game I ever purchased was called Zuma, and involved shooting colored balls into uniform, moving strings.  I paid $20 bucks for it after becoming addicted from the trial version that came with my computer.  When I downloaded the full version, a new desktop icon appeared on my screen that simply said "Best Buy Games Center."  Little did I know that this link would open up a whole new world of reasonably priced, well supported games.

After reading the fine print, I decided to join the club, sponsored by Best Buy but run by Oberon Media.  I pay a monthly fee of $6.95, and get to pick any game I want.  In addition, I can purchase any other games for the same, relatively cheap $6.95.  The best part about this program is the awesome support I have received from Oberon.  Once about six months ago, and again last night, I had issues getting a game to function.  They started out playing fine, then froze up several minutes in.  When I contacted customer support, they were not only helpful, but very patient and courteous as well.  I was leery about joining a club with only a email address in the contact information, but Oberon has proven to be top-of-the-line.

Here is the link to the Home Page for their site.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:

Best Buy Games Center

Drawn: The Painted Tower

Short but Sweet.  That is the way I would describe "Drawn: The Painted Tower."  The game-play itself lasted less than three hours, but the graphics were far superior to anything I have seen in a long time.

The entire game was like one giant conundrum waiting to be figured out.  Each puzzle offered a new challenge, making me use every aspect of my mental capabilities to solve.  To be honest, I ended up cheating a lot more playing "Drawn" than in any game I can recall.  I am not good at math, and get frustrated easily working on spacial problems.  And "Drawn" had plenty of both.  But it also had one musical puzzle that was great because the tune changed each time you made a mistake, preventing me from just writing down the pattern.  The use of objects to solve riddles was also enticing, although I did feel the developers could have done a lot more with this aspect of the game. 

Anything it lacked in game-play, Drawn more than made up for in graphics, music, and storyline.  I felt like I was playing a Tim Burton cartoon (back when he was actually creative).  The artists involved in this game should be recognized for their superior work, and promoted to make much longer games, in my humble opinion.  The entire game was not voiced-over, but the male who did the cut scenes did a great job setting the eerie tone that permeated throughout Drawn.

On a scale of 1-10, I would give "Drawn: The Painted Tower." a 9.  Despite its length and excessive difficulty in some spots, I will never forget the story and creative graphics.  I will surely play it again sometime in the near future, just to experience the amazing cut scenes again.

Spring Has Sprung!

When I was in grade school, I learned the following grammatically-incorrect, but adorable poem:

Spring has sprung,
The grass has ris.
I wonder where the flowers is?

Every picture I have taken for this serious thus far has me asking the same question.
The birds are chirping, the days are warming up, but brown still outweighs green in the landscape of Naperville.
I hope you enjoy the pictures, and the poem!

Spring has Sprung

Escape the Museum 1 & 2

The best way to pick games on the site I belong to is to keep your eyes peeled for bundles.  Bundles include 2-3 games for the same price as one.  I recently purchased "Escape the Museum 1&2" as a bundle, and must say it was worth every penny.  In fact, the first of the pair was so good that it would have been worth $7 alone.  The second was also great, with better graphics, but less of a challenge.

In the first game, you play as a mother-daughter team stuck in a San Francisco museum following a terrible earthquake.  The point of the game is to get out of the museum alive, while saving as many artifacts as possible along the way.  You do this in usual hidden-picture fashion, by finding them!  Like all of my favorite games, both "Escape the Museums" allow you to use the objects you find to solve puzzles.  From firing a Civil-War era cannon, to melting a frozen ice man, the first game used tons of creative ideas so that each new room had not only a new feel, but a unique challenge.  I loved the bonus find 10 and hidden object options as well.  I would give "Escape the Museum 1" a 10 out of 10 rating!  I loved it and will surely play it again someday.

"Escape the Museum 2" was also great.  This time, you play as the dad trying to reach the mother-daughter team.  I thought it was cool how the writers made it so that the story line from both games took place during the same tragedy, just from different perspectives.  The hidden objects scenes themselves were also more polished, and much, much easier.  The homeless helper was a nice touch, too.  However, all of these positives were overridden by the ease with which I beat the game.  I personally prefer the "sketchy" drawings to the clean, computer-aided graphics.  Still, the game was decent and deserves a 7.2 out of 10, in my opinion.  The extra .2 was because I got to rescue so many pets, which is always a bonus in my book!

No Kids

My husband and I have decided not to have children.  This decision came about as a result of many factors, but primarily because we long ago realized what the authors of the study in this article just figured out:  parents are delusional.  Not only do they trick themselves into believing having kids is a good financial investment, they also somehow manage to pretend they actually enjoy parenting. 

One of the reasons my husband and I get along so well is that we both are realists; we refuse to look at the world wearing the same blinders so many of our contemporaries insist on donning.  My clear understanding regarding the truth about being a parent comes primarily from the fact that I am the oldest of three children, and thus heard all of my mother's under-the-breath comments through the years.  "Kids: who needs em."  And, of course, the universal mantra:  "If I would have known then what I know now, I never would of had em."  For many years I resented my mother for letting me hear her musings.  But today, I hope she reads this thread and realizes how grateful I am that she shared her true feelings out loud.

My desire to remain childless also stems from my years of observing parents.  All of the supposed "joys" seemed like hassles and time-drains to me.  But still, I didn't completely rule out the thought of having a family until my husband's uncle and aunt adopted two children from Russia.  Before I go further, I must state unequivocally how much I adore them both.  But, from the first time I babysat, I realized one thing:  how good it felt to leave them behind and go home to my own peaceful condo.  The more time I spent with them, changing diapers and making bottles, doing dishes and folding laundry, giving baths and blow drying hair, the more I knew parenthood wasn't for me. 

Thankfully, my husband is on the same page.  He enjoys spending a couple quality hours a month with the children in our family, but doesn't feel the need to bring the chaos into our own home.  Unfortunately, I know this decision does not please everyone in our families.  But we are strong enough to make decisions for ourselves.

As a result of our decision, we have jokingly come to see children as "reasons" not to start a family.  For example, The little girl at target who was literally pulling down her mothers pants to get her attention, while the poor woman just tried to find her credit card, was reason 6,378.  We really don't have a list, but pretend we do and rank the instance higher based on how glad we are it isn't us in the adult role.

So, although it may not be socially acceptable to everyone, I have decided to start sharing this "list" here.  Hopefully we are not alone in finding the "joys" of parenting ironic, and humorous.
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3/17

Reason 4,321:  At Michael's today, a mom with 2 unruly children made me add one to this thread.  The 5ish year old little girl was throwing random items into mom's basket while the little boy showed her EVERY item they passed.  "Look, mommy!  A headband!  Look mommy!  an airplane!  Look mommy!  A pen!"  When she got to the check-out, I happened to be behind her.  She had to give the clerk a ball that had appeared with the stuff she actually needed.  Now, I realize part of the problem in this case was the mother's refusal to acknowledge her kids bad behavior.  But, the whole situation left me glad I never have to face such an embarrassing situation! 
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3/18

I have two to add:  First, reason 9,053 was spotted while my husband and I were driving together to the store.  The lady in front of us had several children in her car and was LITERALLY pulling her hair out.  I'm not talking about roughly combing her fingers through it.  She was grabbing it by the fistful and yanking with all of her might.  I don't know what was going on in that car, but seeing her reaction was reason enough for me to add this post.

The second is a story my girlfriend told me about her adult children, aged 21-25.  They closed the bars in Naperville two nights ago and ended up at my girlfriends house.  They were all smart and took cabs, but not their own homes.  When they arrived at my friend's, it was already 4 am.  They proceeded to make noise and keep her up until 6.  She specifically told one boy to turn off the tv before he fell asleep, and when she went out there to check an hour later, he had disappeared upstairs.  So, reason 20,900 is my desire never to run a brothel out of my home.  To make the story even worse, this was the THIRD time in a week half the drunk population ended up crashing in her house!
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4/7

Rarely do parents admit that having children isn't all that it is cracked up to be.  Yesterday, I had a candid conversation with my dermatologist.  She said that she often found herself envying her childless friends, and the freedom they have to live for themselves instead of their children.  On my last visit, she had told me how much she admired my resolve to ignore societal pressures and remain childless.  I appreciate her honesty more than she will ever realize!
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5/11

Reason 407:  Kids don't communicate in English even when they are able to communicate in English, in an attempt to get their way.  They tend to do this in stores that sell toys and candy, which seems to be everywhere these days.

My husband and I had to stop at Menard's to grab a sprinkler and some chicken wire to finish up our garden yesterday.  As we were checking out, there was a little girl behind us who kept crying and whining as if someone were yanking out her hair.  Her mother, incessantly asking "What do you want?" and getting a momentary pause in the action as the child pointed to the candy, didn't seem to understand asking again was useless.  She had denied the child the candy at least twenty times before we were able to pay and escape the madness.  I swear I almost went over there and bought her some damn gummy bears!

While I'm at it....

Reason 2,670:  Toddlers have no concept of time, or (Reason 13,400) proper etiquette.

While at church with my parents on Easter, I spent a lot of my time studying the people around me.  It was almost impossible for me to not notice the handsomely clad four year old boy in the pew behind us.  This is because he asked his aunt "Is the basket coming now?" about the same number of times as the clueless mother questioned her child in the scenario for reason 407 above.
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5/25

At T.G.I. Fridays last night, my husband and I were enjoying a moment of peace.  He had actually forgotten his phone for once, and we had already ordered and were just leaning forward to tell each other about our day.  But neither of us got a word out before it happened.  The loudest, most ear-splitting, shriek I had ever heard.  It was so loud, I could feel the hairs on the nape of my neck tingling.  It went on for a good 15 seconds, before it ended as quickly as it had begun.  Both of us had the same reaction . . . Reason 5. . . Never having to hear screams like that in the peace of our own house.
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6/29

According to an article I found linked on Yahoo from Details magazine, "children have gone from being an economic asset to an economic liability."  I couldn't agree more.

The average cost for middle class parents to see a single child through high school is over $286,000.  If you add in college, you are looking at as much as $400,000 total.  I couldn't imagine the pressure of knowing I had to save that much money.  The economy being as tight as it is, we struggle just to get by.

Couples with children also tend to be less happy in their marriage.  A 2009 study found that 90% of parents experienced a decline in marital bliss after the birth of their first child.  All the more reason I am glad we will not be having children!

Tear Jerkers

Reading this story about a 16 year old who made his teams winning shot, capping their perfect season, then collapsed and died inspired me to make this post.  In memory of  Wes Leonard, this thread will serve to track those stories that literally bring me to tears.
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6/3

This post could easily have fallen into a thread about immigration, or the war on drugs.  But, after watching the video in this link, I feel the most appropriate place for this story is right here. By the time it was over, I was fighting back an emotional breakdown.

As a teen, I visited Mexico.  It took less than a month for me to fall in love with both the place, and its people.  I have often dreamed about retiring on a ranch, much like the one the family in this video lived in before the kidnapping.  I don't know that I would even ponder doing so now, considering the violence plaguing almost every corner of the once peaceful nation.

The images in the video are graphic, but I encourage you to see for yourself what our commitment to eradicating drugs has done to our southern border, and its citizens.  It doesn't matter which side of the issue you fall on; as an American, you are guilty of what is happening there, and the torture that the man featured in the video endured.
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9/13/2011
Scores burn to death in Kenya gas fire, police say  (MSNBC, 9/12/2011)

The above linked article is probably the most disturbing true story I have ever read.  I preserve it here only so that we all can remember how fragile life is, and how lucky we are to have each moment.

Mystery Legends - Phantom of the Opera - Review

I just finished the best hidden picture/puzzle game ever!  It is part of a series called Mystery Legends, but far superior to the other games.  Phantom of the Opera has it all, including amazing scenes, clean, crisp gameplay, sweet voice-overs, and a decent story.  It took me over seven hours to complete, so I definitely feel like I got my monies worth. 

From the moment the curtain literally falls, you are transported to the Paris Opera house.  Only, it is in ruins after years of disuse.  Playing as the daughter of the original main heroine from the play, you must beat the Phantom by solving puzzles, and completing hidden picture scenes.

Outside of one or two times where I thought the objects required for certain objectives seemed weird, the game was intuitive enough to guide the player along, without being at all linear.  The puzzles themselves ranged from easy to hard, but never so difficult that I felt completely stumped.  And the hidden object scenes were detailed, creepy, and memorable.

Overall, I would give Phantom of the Opera a 9.5 out of 10.  I absolutely loved it, and can't wait to play it again in a couple months!

Escape Whisper Valley - Review

Last weekend, my awesome husband let me pick an extra game.  (The club I am in lets me choose one per month, and then any additional I want for $8.)  So, inspired by the chilly, snowy weather we were having in the burbs of Chicago at the time, I chose "Escape Whisper Valley."

I have played Spintop games before, and thoroughly enjoyed them.  However, this game felt like work after I had completed about half of the worlds.  Besides finding the extra lock and key in each of the 25 maps, there were no special Easter Eggs to watch out for.  The puzzles that divide the various worlds were bland and way too easy.  The "Bonus" match 3 game was disappointingly very boring.

The scenes themselves were also nothing worth blogging about.  The difficulty never exceeded medium.  Maybe I just have the winter blues, but I didn't enjoy "Escape Whisper Valley" much at all.  I would have to give it a 4 out of 10. 

Fabulous Finds

Fabulous Finds is a hidden object game like no other.  The players job is to search rooms in a house for objects based on themes, such as "Foodies" or "Holidays and Parties."  The objects in the scene have a pop-up description as the mouse hovers over them to help you determine what things are.  I very much appreciated this touch, however sometimes the pop-ups were a little annoying.  Once I know that a "Antique Persian Rug" is an "Antique Persian Rug," well, you get it.

Once you have found all of the required items, a yard sale ensues.  This is my favorite part of the game because it is pretty difficult, but very fun.  Four clues on the right say things such as "The clown wants to spin vinyl."  Your job is to find the clown, pick him up, and put him by the record player.  As a reward, your cash box fills up.

The final part of each "world" allows the player to spend the monies collected from the yard sale to re-decorate the house.  Specific goals are given to perfect each room.  This portion of the game could have been great, but the goals stifled my creativity. 

Overall, Fabulous Finds is one of the most unique games I have ever played.  My biggest complaint was that it seemed very short.  I give it a 7 out of 10, and would have given it a 8 out of 10 had it lasted longer.

The Singularity

Will IBM's Watson beat the world's two greatest Jeopardy champions at their own game again today?   If yesterday's match is any indication, it will.  Not only did Watson win, I think it would be a fair statement to say it creamed the humans.  After witnessing Watson's unmatched buzzer speed and incredible knowledge-base, I must say I am more than impressed.*

Appropriately, the cover of last weeks Time Magazine had the following headline:  "2045 The Year Man Becomes Immortal."  Inside, I found an interesting article about a topic that has been on the tip of conspiracy theorists tongues for a couple decades, and has lately garnered the attention of the intellectual elites of the world as well.  If you haven't guessed already, I am talking about the Singularity movement.

Though my regular readers may find it hard to belief, I have yet to completely form my opinion on this topic.  It's not that I'm not leaning towards buying into the theory.  There are parts that intrigue me, and seem not only plausible, but probable.  Specifically, I agree with the exponential direction our technological growth is taking.  However, I am not certain that I understand the conclusion Singulatarians (is that a word?) imagine.  In fact, the diversity of ideas they seem to offer on just where this exponential growth will take us seems like proof that they don't really know themselves. (Which is odd for a movement that defines itself by a term implying a single, unifying moment of time somewhere in the future.)

So, in an effort to catalog what I learn about this interesting topic, I have decided to share a couple of the points I highlighted as I read the article from Time.   (All quotes to follow are from pages 46-49 of February 21, 2011 issue of Time Magazine.)

As I mentioned in the paragraphs above, I have no problem buying into the idea that "technological progress happens exponentially, not linearly."  This seems like common sense to me.  Furthermore, I love the "interdisciplinary nature of Singularity theory."  As a reader and adorer of Ken Wilbur's interdisciplinary approach to history and the humanities,** I find it refreshing that technological gurus are willing to step outside of their own fields.

I also heard about the age-defying potential of telomerase before, on one of those news shows like 60 minutes:  "They (researchers at Harvard) administered telomerase to a group of mice suffering from age-related degeneration.  The damage went away.  The mice didn't just get better; they got younger."    Which seems to prove prove Aubrey de Grey's point quite well:  "'The whole of medicine consists of messing about with what looks pretty inevitable until you figure out how to make it not inevitable.'"

The fact that our ability to make machines smarter at an extraordinary rate isn't debatable.  However, predicting the end results is all purely speculative.  Instead of death, for instance, will people choose to have their brains transformed into data, and scanned into a computer?  If that happens will the consciousness inside of the machine be the same as the person who once inhabited a body?  And what happens if that data is deleted, or worse, corrupted?  An eternity as bad code seems worse than death to me.  Talk about a great idea for a short story...

What happens when computers crack the human genome to the point that they can manipulate it?  Will computers create humans with tails and horns?  Or will we try to force them to make us immortal in our fleshy shells?  Imagining the social implications of this discovery is enough to give me a headache!

Whatever the answers, I agree completely with the author of the article, Lev Grossman:  "Nothing gets old as fast as the future."

*I find it interesting that it took me until my third edit to realize I was referring to Watson as "he" and not "it."  Apparently it's human characteristics have my brained convinced computers have already developed to be like us.

**Ken Wilbur postulates that all knowledge develops exponentially, coincidentally.
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2/17
Computer finishes off human opponents on 'Jeopardy!'  (CNN, by Jason Hanna, 2/17/2011)

My husband and I DVR'd all three episodes of Jeopardy featuring Watson.  I must admit that I was impressed by the computer's performance.  Probably the biggest factor contributing to it's success was the speed it knew whether or not it had reached the threshold to buzz in.  Almost before Alex had finished reading the question, Watson's screen was lit up.  The human contestants were often furiously trying to press their buttons too, but to no avail.

However, it was obvious that it would still need some tweaking.  For example, Watson does not hear or see.  Therefore, if another contestant had already given an incorrect answer, there was no way for it to know.  Also,  if innuendo's were involved in the clue, Watson sometimes gave hysterical replies.

I hope that IBM continues to fidget with Watson, and calls for a rematch in the future.  Or, perhaps a better idea would be to have them try to develop another computer designed to beat Watson!
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2/20
The Greatest Massacre in Irish and British History:  The Truth Comes Out  (Arch News)

As an example of how computers can be used to do the work of humans at incredible rates, I found the above linked story about deciphering depositions from the 1600's in Ireland especially intriguing.

"The team behind the study had unprecedented access to IBM’s LanguageWare© technology research team in its Dublin Software Lab and developed a unique suite of software solutions including a program called Wordsmith to analyse the Depositions and to cross-correlate an array of features of the text – a process which would be too complicated and potentially take a lifetime for a scholar to undertake manually."

As a lover of history, I find this use of super-computing especially amazing.  Especially given the implications of this particular story on the present state of affairs in Northern Ireland.

"The Depositions by Henry Jones in early 1642 of attacks on Protestants in the early months of the rebellion, the only problem was it was hersay and fed the rabid fear that divided the population along religious lines.  These division were to last and multiply with tragic consequences to the present day and formed the foundation for the Northern Ireland troubles."

I  wonder if knowing one's cultural stance toward another social group was based on lies would be enough to reverse the deep-seated hatred of the Irish people.
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3/10
Inventor, futurist predicts dawn of total artificial intelligence  (Rocco Castoro via CNN)


When I read the opening paragraph of the article linked above, I felt like I do at the beginning of a scary movie.

"In the year 2050, if Ray Kurzweil is right, nanoscopic robots will be zooming throughout our capillaries, transforming us into nonbiological humans. We will be able to absorb and retain the entirety of the universe's knowledge, eat as much as we want without gaining weight, shape-shift into just about any physical form imaginable, live free from disease and die at the time of our choosing."


But, as I listened to Mr. Kurzweil talk in the attached video I found myself not only buying into his theory, but excited about my prospects for a brighter future.  Let me backtrack a moment, though, and share a couple of the cool examples of exponential technological advances we can see today. 


The most compelling example Mr. Kurzweil gave, in my opinion, was how computers have shrunk over the years.  At one time, a single machine took up an entire room.  Today, computers fit in our pockets in the form of cellular phones.  Why, then, would it be implausible to assume that a decade from now, they will shrink even further, to the point of being able to navigate our blood vessels? 


Less than ten years ago, Kurzeil points out, we lived without search engines.  Tomorrow, thanks to nanotechnology, we may be able to open e-mails with French Toast attached from Paris. 


One of the places the rapid rate of advancement is most evident is in gaming.  I can attest to this personally, and think it would be so cool if, by 2030, our nervous systems do all of the work of controlling the avatars.  My disabilities will no longer hamper my playing.  The winner will truly be determined by whose neurons fired quickest, not whose fingers reacted first!  Breaking the limitations of biology is probably the most promising prospect of the Singularity theory in my opinion. 


When the interview turned to the topic of Mr. Kurzweil's own daily regiment of supplements, the "scam" light bulb immediately started flashing in my head.  Then, the talk of crossing various bridges brought the nasty term "cult" to the forefront of my mind.  But these derogatory terms were quickly forgotten as I heard him do what no scam artists or cult leader do:  admit the possibility of terrible side effects.  The example he gave was  terrorists using the advances in medical science to create super-strains of the flu.


By the end of the movie, I couldn't help but be inspired.  If, as Timothy Taylor predicted, it is technology that made us human, coming together with our creator could truly be a singular experience. 
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5/6
What will happen to us?  The Boston Globe, by Graeme Wood, 5/1/2011

The above linked article rocks.  It isn't about the Singularity specifically, but rather a great number of possible options for humanity's future.  The Singularity is included, but is far from the most outlandish proposition.  But the point of the article is not necessarily to list outcomes, but rather to prove predicting the future is important for the acting in the present. It is worth the read.
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5/23/2011
'Jeopardy!'-winning computer delving into medicine  (MSNBC, by Jim Fitzgerald, 5/21/2011)

Would you trust a robot at your emergency room bedside after suffering a heart attack?   Would you question it's diagnosis?  Would it's computerized analysis of your symptoms leave you feeling as safe, or perhaps safer, than a living doctor?


This scenario may become common in the next decade, and Watson is charting the course.  "Watson is being fed a diet of medical textbooks and journals and taking training questions in plain language from medical students."  Eventually, he will spit out diagnosis just like he did the answers on the famous game show.  And he will even include a percentage representing his certitude. 

But what about those really bizarre cases, where the symptoms don't seem to match up with any known disease?  Perhaps the next challenge for Watson is to catch up on as many episodes of House as possible.
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9/8/2011
Software tricks people into thinking it is human  (New Scientist, by Jacob Aron, 9/6/2011)

The Turing Test is simple.  Participants must engage in a computerized conversation, and analyze the responses to determine if the conversant on the other end is human or mechanical.  The results are tabulated into percentages.  Cleverbot recently scored nearly as high as real humans in the largest test of its kind ever conducted.  

But what does this mean?  In my opinion, it is not so much Cleverbot's ability to retrieve information from it's database, so much as it's ability to learn the material in the first place.  Learning involves the proper categorization of new ideas, and language is especially deceiving at times due to figures of speech, such as innuendos.  Thus, Cleverbot's ability to converse like a human impresses me.  Cleverbot quickly conducts searches and then spews out a response, similar to what we do.  The only difference, I believe, is that we do it without thinking.  It comes natural.  Cleverbot, on the other hand, needs to devote all of its power to imitate human conversation. 

Robinson Crusoe I and II

The last two hidden picture games I played were called "Robinson Crusoe"* and "Robinson Crusoe and the Cursed Pirates."  The first game in the series was great, but the second was amazing. 

The original game loosely follows the story-line from the famous novel by Daniel Defoe.  Playing as the main character, Robinson Crusoe, you find yourself the sole survivor of a shipwreck, tossed on the shore of a unmapped island.  At first, the island appears uninhabited, but eventually you discover cannibals reside there.  With the help of a mangy mutt and an unlikely ally named Friday, you build your boat to escape by solving hidden object scenes and puzzles that vary in difficulty from easy to extremely difficult.  My main complaint was that the ending was anti-climatic, and some of the scenes seemed less polished then others.  Overall, I would give the original game a 8.5 our of 10.  It was very enjoyable, so much so that I immediately purchased the sequel. . .

. . . Robinson Crusoe and the Cursed Pirates. This games graphics are immaculate.  From the opening movie, to the epic final scenes, I was as drawn-in by this hidden object game as I used to be by RPG's back in my console days.  The hidden object scenes themselves were hilarious, as was the "testing" of a parrot-turned-monkey by making him drink various brews that converted him into anything from a watermelon, to a damsel in distress.  I was so impressed by this game that I give it a 9.7 out of 10.  If it wasn't for a couple typos I spotted, this game would have been perfect!  I can't wait for the next installment to come out!

*Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate a link to the original game on the Best Buy/Oberon site I use. 

La Maison Mantin

I love anything odd and eccentric.  A mansion full of one-of-a-kind sculptures, daintily designed boudoirs, and medieval artifacts sounds like a fabulous place to visit, if you ask me.  That is why I am creating this thread; so I don't forget to add La Maison Mantin  to the list of places I wish to visit before I die.  After seeing the pictures in this National Geographic photo-journal, I am convinced it would be a trip well worth taking. 

The mansion was once in the possession of a childless lover of the stranger side of life.  It was his final wish to leave the home, and its many collections, to the town of Moulins.  However, his one stipulation was that it was to remain closed to the public for 100 years after his death.  The century was up in 2005, and, after several years of restoration work, the mansion was opened to the public for the first time in 2010.

If my husband and I ever venture to France, I will make sure to remember this post, and especially the picture of the dueling frogs from the photo-journal linked above.  To see La Maison Mantin's many oddities would be amazingly cool!

Egypt - Protectors of the Past

Out of all the news coming out of Egypt as its people attempt to gain the freedoms they deserve, the one I have found most touching regards the museum of antiquities in Cairo.  Apparently, a human chain of protectors formed around the building, as the ministry next door went up in flames, to keep would-be looters out.  This selfless act, to protect artifacts important to the history of our world, touches my heart.  I found the following article that relays the story well:  Egyptians rush to save Tut's riches.
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1/31

Unfortunately, some antiquities, including mummies were crushed by looters.  Nothing is "irreparable." But, for those of us who love the past, seeing the pictures of trampled wrappings and bones that have held together for 5000 years, only to be destroyed by infidels in our time, is beyond tragic.
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2/5
Unwrapping the mystery of the headless mummies  (MSNBC, by Rossella Lorenzi, 2/4/2011)

The above linked article states that a total of 70 antiquities were damaged by potential looters in Egypt last week.  But out of the tragedy, a new mystery is emerging that is catching the world's history lovers by storm:  What is the identity of the headless mummies shown strewn across the floor in the hours following Cairo's museum's infiltration?   "Despite close examinations of the released pictures, extensive archival research and opinion exchange on social networks, no expert has been able to identify them."   I love puzzles, and this may prove to be a whooper.
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3/13
Egypt's Archaeological Sites Stand Unguarded  (Discovery News, by Rossella Lorenzi, 3/9/2011)

Heartbreaking.  It is the only word I can come up with after reading the above linked article.  Here is an excerpt:

"In the past few weeks, looters have removed inscribed blocks from tombs at Saqqara, Giza and Abusir, and even tried to cut into pieces a colossal red granite statue of the 19th Dynasty king Ramesses II at the southern quarry of Aswan.  One of the biggest losses is the tomb of the royal scribe Ken Amun in Tell el-Maskhuta, near Ismailia. Dating to the 19th Dynasty B.C (1315-1201 B.C.), the burial is the first ever Ramesside-period tomb uncovered in Lower Egypt.Discovered last year, the burial featured beautifully decorated walls which are now a lost memory. Sadly, the site has been completely destroyed."

I know it sounds selfish, but I will never get a chance to see some of these artifacts now.  They will probably end up in private collections miles and miles from Egypt.  Truly heartbreaking.
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5/6

Every day, there is news of more artifacts being recovered.  Thieves trying to sell statues on the street are being nabbed and incarcerated, while their loot is returned to the museum.  I only hope these criminals are made to pay for their crimes.  Stealing your countries own heritage should be judged as treasonous, in my opinion.

Football

NFL's dirty little secret:  Player's suffer  (CNN, by Jeff Pearlman, 1/25/2011)

In the above linked opinion piece by Jeff Pearlman, the author argues that the terrible, long term injuries players sustain is the NFL's skeleton in the closet.  I disagree.  I have known about the injuries sustained on the field, and the long term health consequences of playing the game since my childhood in the 1980's.  I remember reading a story in the kid's version of Newsweek or Time about this issue in 8th grade, and staging a debate.  I feel the same now, as I did then.

I believe players need to use some of the millions they make to save for their health needs.  Many, in fact most, Americans perform some form of manual labor that affords them only a pittance of the salaries NFL players receive.  I see it like this:  the NFL players work for a short number of years compared to regular folks, and make ten to twenty times what most working families make in a lifetime, in a single year.  What are we paying them so much for, if not to see them physically challenge their bodies to the limits, sometimes, resulting in injuries?

Is it sad that some NFL legends suffer terribly in their later years as a result of the working conditions they chose to endure?  Sure.  But they knew the risks going into the game.  Football is a rough sport, and we have been debating player safety for way longer then Mr. Pearlman, and other player advocates wish to admit.

Does this all mean the NFL is completely off the hook?  No, I don't think so.  I think a portion of players salaries should be set aside for retirement health care needs as a pre-requisite to any contract signings.  Make the players face the facts of their own mortality, and then there can be no arguments later about who told whom what about the risks.   In addition, the NFL should adopt every measure possible to ensure player's safety, while maintaining the integrity of the game.

My favorite player of all time, Reggie White, suffered a heart attack and died just a few years after he retired.  Though heart issues ran in his family, and he owned, and frequented a greasy burger joint in downtown Green Bay, I am sure his years on the field, sacking the enemy quarterbacks, could only have sped up his inevitable demise.  But, if you asked the Reverend up in heaven if he would have chosen not to in the NFL, given the consequences,  he would have said heck no!

With all that said, go Packers!

Recycled Homes

 Texan builds artful, green homes out of trash  (by Angela Morris)

I love re-using and recycling.  Anytime I can save a twist-tie from a bread bag, or re-use a bag to clean the litter-box, I am happy.  But my recycling creativity stops there.  When I saw a picture on Yahoo's picture section of a fairytale home created entirely out of recycled materials, I was intrigued.  I followed one of the links on the bottom, and found the above linked story and pictures. 

Though I am not a beer-drinker, I can respect the "Beer House" couple's passion for the beverage, and willingness to be different.  "The home doesn't look exactly like a beer can, but the exterior keeps the red, white and blue coloring and the symbolism -- stars and Hops blossoms -- you'll find on the Budweiser label." 

The Hansel and Gretel house is much more my style.  I also think the builder's focus on renewable energy and high-efficiency appliances is awesome.  "[E]ach house is highly energy efficient with ample insulation, an on-demand solar hot water heater and a catchment system that recycles rainwater to flush the toilet and wash clothes."

The amount of waste diverted from landfills since this program began is incredible:

"Large, wholesale companies avoid costly disposal fees by sending Phillips 18-wheeler trucks loaded with lumber, tile and granite. Local residents also donate old fixtures like doors and bathtubs after remodeling their homes.  Phillips helped the city of Huntsville start a program called Trash Into Plowshares in 2003 after being overwhelmed with donations.  The materials are stored in a city warehouse and distributed for free to low-income residents and nonprofits to make building improvements."


I encourage you to click the link above, view the photos, and then read the story.  Even if an entirely recycled home is a little too out there for your personal style, maybe you will get the itch to be creative next time you remodel your bathroom or kitchen.  I know I was!  I can't wait to talk to my husband about this: "a bathroom with its walls, floor and ceiling entirely paved in mirror shards."

Weird Creatures with Nick Baker

Yesterday afternoon, I was tired of watching my usual, depressing news channel, so switched it up a bit.  I found a show on the guide channel called "Weird Creatures," and decided to check it out.  I was expecting your typical nature show, complete with copulation shots, and  Mr. Monotonous narrating.  Instead, I watched three episodes in a row of the most realistic natural scavenger hunt that I have ever encountered.  Though I doubt my new knowledge about the marsupial mole or mole worm will come in handy anytime soon, I feel much smarter after watching.  It also helps that the host, Nick Baker, is very easy on the eyes.  In fact, in one episode they had him airing out in a kilt, and I was tempted to find the shot and make it my screen saver.  Though Weird Creatures isn't the ultimate television show I have ever watched, it is the best animal-based educational program.  I therefore give it a 9.5 out of 10, and encourage all of my readers to check it out!

If I had a Million Dollars

In honor of the HUGE jackpot that was won last night in the megamillions lottery (over $350 million), I thought I would start a post sharing and discussing ideas regarding how to spend that kind of money.  If I won, I told my husband that I would hire a shopping helper, grab my kitties, and head out on a never-ending shopping spree.  I don't like flying, so would probably hire a chauffeur for short trips, and buy my own high-speed, one-car train for longer ones. 

I would spend my down-time between stores spending my money by finding worthy recipients, and changing lives a couple thousand bucks at a time.  Paying off folks student loans who are changing the world, or finishing the mortgage payments for a fallen soldier's family are just two examples of what I would consider worthy causes.

Of course, I would take care of my family as well.  My brother would be my well-paid financial adviser, for example.  My parents could also take a chunk of money and go to Africa to start a school or something.  They are much more adventurous than I am, and love Africa and its people.

That is all that I can think of for the moment, but I will keep thinking about other ways to spend my fake mega-millions, and update this post with ideas.
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3/1/2011
Bubble Tree in the woods  (Shine, by YahooGreen, 2/25/2011)

I found something amazing this morning!  They are called "Bubble Trees" but I would call them "Bubble Igloos" after looking at the above linked photo journal of them.  Starting in the thousands of dollars, these transparent tents are perfect for the reluctant camper, like me.  Sure, I want to see the sights.  But I'll take a pass on the mosquitoes!  And the cushy beds pictured look much more back-pleasing then the average sleeping bag.  If I ever have a million dollars, I will buy a Bubble Tree and go camping with my husband...for our first time!
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4/12
Creepy Abandoned Mansions  (By Morgan Brennan and Michelle Cerone, Forbes.com, 4/8/2011)

If I win the lottery, I will purchase one of the Ohio mansions pictured in the article linked above, or a similar example that is long-abandoned, but still beautiful.  I will drink margaritas as I direct renovators in the grandest of renovation projects.  The overgrown lawns will become luscious gardens, the crumbling columns ivory pillars.  I will install elevators so that my bum knees won't have to deal with the stairs, and indoor-outdoor swimming pools for exercise.  The 1930's "Mudhouse Mansion" is especially appealing, because my love of antiques and bargain hunting for oddities from the last century could finally be put to good use!  Dreaming of being rich is so fun!
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5/10

If I had several million dollars, I would buy this house.  Or shall I say fortress.  The first photo is deceiving.  That is only how it would look when I am shut up inside with my husband and kitties awaiting the apocalypse.    It opens up quite nicely.  Drawbridge and all.
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6/25

The ring featured in this article is amazing.  Not only is it gorgeous, but it survived in the ocean since the 17th century!  Emeralds are notoriously soft, so the fact that if didn't crack attests to its quality.  If I ever win the lottery, I would love to adorn my finger with this treasure.
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9/29/2011

After seeing Naomi Campbell's eye shaped abode featured in this Yahoo News article, I can't help but be jealous.  If I was married to a billionaire, I would have him build me a self-sustaining dream home on a remote island somewhere too, I guess. 

My home would be a giant peace sign, though.  With different gardens in each open area, and a marvelous chef-run kitchen at the meeting place of the lines.  And I am not much of a beach person.  I would prefer my own private mountain range.
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