Cat's have the right to negotiate their own terms.

Be good to your cats, because at any moment they may decide to up and leave.

I recently read an article in Discover Magazine about the 100 scientific discoveries of 2007. One of them was the history of feline domestication. When Man first developed agriculture they created fields, to grow plants. These fields did much more than just that. They offered smaller animals, such a mice, a feeding ground. This eventually brought cats to the fields. After all they do love to eat those furry little rodents. Shorty the cats who were predisposed to tolerate people flourished, living in fields, then huts and villages. The cats had found a world where they could hunt to their hearts content, but sleep protected from larger predators by man.

So those cute little kitty cats who always act like they own the place, and their doing you a favor by allowing you to be in their presence, actually have a right to be proud. They are the only "domestic" animal to never be domesticated by man.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Since it is Christmas eve this will be a short post, but I felt I had to share my story. Today I went shopping. Not Christmas shopping. I did not leave shopping for the last minute this year. Today I went watch shopping.

Recently my watch died. It lasted me five and a half years. It was a good watch. Durable. Told me the time, date and day of the week. It's time was up. So today I replaced it, with an almost exact replica.

When the sales representative came over to help me I had already narrowed my selection down to two choices. One was the replica. The other was a thinner model. The first question was...are these water resistant?

Sales Clerk:

They should be. It will say on the back.

Me:

It says's water resistant.

Sales Clerk:

That means it can be submerged up to 100 meters. So about 5 miles.

Yes, you heard that right 100 meters is equal to 5 miles. Well after that we moved on to a new topic. One that has less to do with measurements.

Me:

When can I get the watch sized?

Sales Clerk:

We won't be able to do any sizing until January 1.

Me:

There's no way we can have it happen sooner, cause I will be leaving on the 27th.

Sales Clerk:

Oh well I can get it sized for you after Christmas, we're just busy right now.

Me:

Oh. Can you guarantee that it will be ready to be picked up on the 26th. Cause I will be leaving in the morning on the 27th.

Sales Clerk:

Well let me see if I can get it for you today. Follow me.

We then went over to talk to the guy who does the sizing. She handed over the sale to him, which we were very thankful for. He was able to get the watched sized in five minutes.

In the end I got to see the difference between an incompetent sales clerk and a competent one. The later made my shopping experience much less stressful, but with less hilarity.

Pictures

Bill Richardson with Mun Jong Choi in January. Richardson is running for president in 2008. He says he has more international experience than the other Democratic Candidates.



Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and David Letterman are all expected to return for production in January. Despite the writers strike. They are doing this to help offset the people involved with production, such as cameramen, who are not getting paid due to the strike.



New research has led scientists to believe that Whales evolved from Mammals. The Indohyus, tiny deer like animals went back into the water that they had evolved out of and became the Whales we know today.



For all you star gazers out there now is the time to check out Mars. Located just above Gemini, the planet is the closest it has been since 2003 and will not get any closer until 2016.

National Museum of Iraq

Following the norm whenever a country goes through turmoil, Iraq's art community has suffered greatly these past few years. When Baghdad fell looters stole around 15,000 Mesopotamian artifacts from the National Museum of Iraq. This is a huge loss to society as Iraq was in the center of various great early civilizations, including the Persian Empire. (From whom those of the Middle East claim descendants, and are ironically, if not significantly the ancient rivals of the Greeks, whom the West claim descendants.)

Since the looting of the museum the museum directors have managed to recover 4,000 of the missing pieces. 400 of which were returned by Ahmad Chalabi, a Shiite politician who is trying to get international support in locating and recovering the artifacts that remain lost.

The museum's tragedy has also brought a spotlight on the vast amount of illegal digging that occurs at 12,000 of Baghdad's archaeological sites. In a country of turmoil, black market antiquities can bring in enough money to support a whole family for a long time.

Hobbit

YAY!

I am very happy to see that New Line and Peter Jackson have patched things up. Jackson will now be directing the Hobbit. The book, a prequel to the Lord of the Rings, will be made into two films. The Hobbit just wouldn't have stood up to the Lord of The Rings if Jackson hadn't been on board.

I'm not saying that the films will be as good as the trilogy, that debate has to wait for the completion of filming. What I am saying is that having any other Director would have caused stylistic difference between the films. I'm grateful for the potential for consistency Jackson offers.

Can't wait to see the films.

History

tom Holland on King Darius' view of his reign over Persia:

History, in effect, had been brought to a glorious close. The Persians' empire was both its end and its summation - for what could a dominion be that contained within it all the limits of the horizon, if not the bulwark of a truly cosmic order?"

It is interesting to note how man has viewed history. History is what has gone before. Our view, or opinion, of that history is what the dominate social group chooses to make of it. Manipulating the populous' view of History through propaganda campaigns, the dominate groups have been able to create a history that benefits their own agendas. This is a pessimistic view, yes, but I believe it is true.

King Darius campaigned that "History" had been working toward perfection, towards truth, and the empire had finally reached that perfection under his leadership.

Take your Girlfriend to work day!

This weekend I followed my boyfriend around as he worked. He's a sports reporter for the Trenton Times. He typically covers highschool sports, but will occasionally be called to cover college basketball.

He really loves his job, and now I can see why.

This weekend we watched a girl's basketball game and three wrestling matches. It was a lot of fun. As a student athelet I didn't get the chance to watch many sporting events in highschool, other than my own. This weekend I discovered how fun that can be (and yes I do ealize how often I am using the word "fun" in this paragraph).

The girl's b-ball game was all defense, except for number 2 of the away team who stole the show on offence. It was entertaining to hear the parents cheer on their daughters and yell at the calls the refs were making. It made me feel nastalgic for how my dad would cheer me on at my Volleyball games.

Wresteling was far less thrilling. This was the first time I have ever seen a match. All I can say is, while it was entertaining to watch the 285 pound kids push eachother around. It reminded me of two bulls locking their horns and fighting for supremency. I do not understand why any man would want to play this sport. I guess its a kind of motcho thing I will never understand.

After 4 hours of wresteling we were done covering sports for the weekend. I'm glad I got to see what my boy does while he's far away from me. If you can and you don't have a standard desk job or have a job you dislike, I completely suggest taking your significant other to work with you sometime.

A Modern Day Monopoly

Amtrak, a modern day monopoly. In today's business world when an American thinks of a monopoly they usually think... Microsoft. Although Mac has been encrouching upon that in the past couple of years. When I think of monopolies my mind is immediately drawn to tAmtrak.

A Company where the prices are high and the service is marginal, Amtrak has bloomed into the only train company in town. At least the only train company that can get a person along the Northeast Corridor (I am not very familiar with corridors in other parts of the country). Due to the fact that they are the only game in town Amtrak can charg $111 for a train ticket from Washington =, Union Station to Trenton, NJ. That's how much it costs at 1 p.m. on a Friday. The same trip costs $58 at 12 a.m. on Sunday.

That's half price!

So, either Amtrak is lossing an incredible amount of money on their non-rush hour trains, or supply and demand is workinghighly in their favor. I'm inclined to believe the later.

On that note...will no philanthropus save us from these high prices and consistantly late trains?

Funny warning signs and labels

I doubt I will be able to post anything, never mind my usual pictures tomorrow. So please enjoy the following funny signs and warning labels.

Medea

The Medea is a well known ancient play written by Seneca. Lucius Annaeus Seneca was from Cordoba, Spain. As an ancient Roman he inherited many of the traditions and beliefs of the Romans, as well as the Greeks before them. Medea was based upon a pre-existing myth surrounding a mystical golden fleece. The main character, Medea, was a witch from Colchis, along the eastern shores of the Black Sea. She loves Jason, the hero, whom she helps gain power through the use of magic. But, Jason turns on her and marries another woman, after Medea has already born him two children. In her rage she seeks revenge upon Jason by killing their children.

Recently I learned of the existence of an ancient town. This town was originally under the power of the Assyrians, who used it's great access to horses to add speed to their army. The town then was helped to lead a revolt against their foreign dictators. After winning the town became one of the most prominent of the region. It maintained that status, even after King Cyrus of the Persians, conquered it's walls. The town was called Media.
When King Cyrus expanded his campaign to be a supreme leader and conquer of all he expanded towards the Greek lands. When he came into contact with the Ionians he gave his general, Harpagus instructions to conquer these people using all the force and brutality that the Persians were famous for. Harpagus did a splendid job. The Ionions feared this general, who was from the city of Media, to such an extent that they started to refer to the Persians as Medes.

I have not done any further research, but it appears to me that Seneca borrowed the name Media (this is the English spelling, Medea is the Latin spelling) to represent the most horrific, and brutal woman depicted in the ancient plays.

Snail Mail

It's amazing how books keep us together. Today I am planning on sending a friend in NY a book I read over the weekend. "Love Walked In" by Marisa De La Santos is a heartwarming story of Love in all it's forms. I enjoyed the story and I think she will too. The book was originally sent to me by my boyfriend, in NJ, who got it from his mom. This book has traveled. It is not the only book that I've read to travel great distances. The farthest someone has sent a book to me is from France, but it is not the distance that is impressive. The idea that in today's world of instant messenger and cell phones, sending the written word via "snail" mail is still one of the best ways to show you care.
Sending a book not only shows that you care, but that, even from a distance, you still know who they are and what they like. People love receiving mail, especially in today's world of instant communication. While instant communication is great for long distance relationships, the thought and effort of sending actual mail is appreciated far more. Recently my sister got a new job. She was really excited, and over the phone I said "congratulations". Later that day I sent her a card. She was so surprised and thrilled that she immediately called to thank me.
...to thank me. It seems so strange to be thanked for doing something that was second nature, and expected 10 years ago.
In the end I love "snail" mail. I dislike calling it that because we should not focus on it's speed, especially since it usually get's there the next day. A far cry from the Pony Express. Instead we should focus on it's tangable nature. It is a physical connection between two people of great distance.

New Pictures

This week I seem to be very "scientifically" oriented.



Above is the very first picture taken from the moon of the earth. It was taken on August 23, 1966 by the Lunar Orbiter 1.



Muons are generated by cosmic rays. Physicists have developed a way to use the Muons to penetrate the earth and examine ancient sites, such as the Mayan the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán. They will also be using the muons to study active volcanoes and detect nuclear materials.



Meet the jerboa. Located in the Mongolian desert this animal has been lovingly dubbed "Mickey Mouse of the Desert". It has been classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' Red List, and is getting fresh attention from the zoological society's EDGE program, which focuses on species that are "evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered." The jerboa has recently made appearances on various news stations in America, in the hope that the media attention will help increase awareness for the protection of this tiny little animal.

Synopsis

I have a few thoughts that either aren't big enough for their own post, or I just haven't gotten to them yet...which means I may never. So here is a synopsis of these thoughts.

1. It snowed today, all day. I find how the residents of DC react to snow to be quite amusing. Other than the endless hilarity that can come from 1 inch of snowfall in DC I'm really not a fan of this type of precipitation.

2. The wonders of Football. This includes my love of Dallas, and that love's beginning, and the horrible greatness that is Brady and the Patriots.

3. "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. I am currently reading this book, which is an expanded thought based upon scientific research about how long it would take nature to reclaim the world if Man were to disappear in, lets say, rapture style. The book also looks at how man, and all of our inventions have affected nature. I am particular moved by our affects on Megafauna and birds.

4. My Volleyball team won our league championship last night! NUMBER 1! Now we have to decide what prize we want: T-shit, Trophy, money off next years league fees, or a Pint Glass. I'm for Pint Glasses.

5. Christmas. Yes I know it's only December 5, but I have had all (except 3) gifts bought and wrapped for 2 weeks now. Tomorrow is my first holiday party. I have 3 more work parties before I leave to visit family on the 21st. That seems like an outrageous amount of parties, especially since my parents are hosting one the day after I arrive.

Pictures (Late, I know, but here)

Marine life and coastal life are being effected by the great amounts of trash being dumped into the sea. The worst of this trash are the plastics, which do not biodegrade. Scientist have recently discovered that none of the plastics created by man have decomposed, they have merely broken apart into tiny pieces and are now floating around in the Sea or being buried in the earth.



Redskins' Sean Taylor. May he rest in peace.



Cherry Blossoms in Japan are confused. They are blooming out of season. This is due to the eradicate temperature changes. Scientists are concerned for the trees. If they bloom now the seeds that they drop won't have the proper conditions to plant themselves. Those that bloom now, will not bloom in the Spring, when their supposed to.



New images taken form space of Earth's Arctic frontier by NASA.



Criminal Master Mind! This particular 1,000,000 dollar bill is a forgery. The U.S. government does not make bills this high. One individual, who probably thought he was pretty savvy, tried to use it to buy something (I hope it was a car or house and not...m&m's). The cashier wouldn't take the bill and called the cops. The man was arrested and charged with two counts of forgery, he had just deposited fake checks into his banking account.

Supergirl!

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 88% The Flash 85% Iron Man 80% Superman 70% Wonder Woman 63% Robin 63% Green Lantern 60% Catwoman 60% Hulk 45% Spider-Man 40% Batman 15%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...


This is great, cause I loved Supergirl as child. She was second only to SheRa (HeMan's sister).

7 Wonders

In the past year the world was asked to vote on what the “New 7 Wonders of the World” were going to be. The New 7 Wonders…why do we need new wonders? This has been bothering me for a long time now, pretty much since the vote began. What was wrong with the old wonders of the world?

Well…most of them are no longer in existence.

6 out of 7 of the “Old” wonders of the world are no longer standing. Has our society really gotten to the point where their need for instant gratification hinders their ability to appreciate the difficulty of creating something, such as the Hanging Gardens, unless they can see it in person. Now this isn’t to say that I think the New Seven Wonders were easy to create. I appreciate the difficulty they represent, however, I don’t think they are any “more” wondrous than the original wonders. After all, to be on this list shouldn’t there be mystery surrounding how a thing was created.

“Old” 7 Wonders of the World:

Pyramids



Built in Ancient Giza around 2560 BC, these royal burial places have withstood the test of time. After many Egyptian official, archaeologists and scholars expressed their outrage at putting the Pyramids up to vote the “wonders” committee withdrew the Pyramids from the competition in April and granted them "honorary wonder" status. After all the Pyramids are one of the few structures still standing today that keep historian guessing about how they were made.
Colossus



Completed in 282 B.C, the Colossus was a feet of engineering in the ancient world. The statue took 12 years to build and stood 110 feet tall, the tallest in antiquity. It was composed of stone and iron, encapsulated by a layer of bronze. An earthquake snapped the statue off at the knees a mere 56 years later, sending it into the Mandráki Harbor.

Lighthouse of Alexandria

Believed to be the tallest building in antiquity, with the lowest estimate is equal to a 40-story building, the Lighthouse was a highly efficient structure. It used bronze mirrors to reflect light, from a fire at night and from the sun during the day, out to sea. It is rumored that this beacon could be seen 35 miles out at sea. It stood for over 1,500 years before earthquakes finally took it down.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia



A 40 foot-tall gold statue of Zeus, the King of the Gods, sat on a wooden thrown, holding a separate statue of Nike, goddess of victory, in his hand. There are two rumors around it’s destruction. It was either destroyed by the Christians, or moved to Constantinople, where it would have perished in a fire.

The Hanging Gardens



They stood on the banks of the Euphrates River. Built by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC for his wife. The masonry needed to build the aqueduct system and tired gardens would have been awe inspiring in its day.

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

This tomb is the source of the word Mausoleum. The mausoleum stood intact until the early 15th century. The central burial chamber was decorated in gold, while the exterior was adorned with ornate stone friezes and sculptures.

Temple of Artemis

Located in modern day Turkey, the temple was made in honor of the virgin goddess Artemis, sister of Apollo. The 120 columns supporting the temple also housed great works of art. These pieces included a vast array of sculpture depicting the mythical Amazons. Today Archaeologists have reconstructed its base and supporting structures, but most of the Temple is still lost.

“New” 7 Wonders of the World:

Christ the Redeemer

A 105-foot-tall statue in Rio de Janeiro. I can honestly say I did NOT vote for this one. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this particular “New” wonder. The controversy coming from the government asking that the residents of Rio de Janeiro to vote for the statue as much as possible, insisting the majority of its citizens to vote multiple times. Now this could be seen as typical propaganda, but when the votes were tallied over 50% of the votes for this site came from…Rio de Janeiro.

The Great Wall of China

The only man made structure that is visible from space, or so I’ve heard. Ok, I agree that this is pretty amazing, considering it’s length, about 4,000 miles, and when it was built. However, it is also horrific. It’s a testament to human cruelty, after all it is filled with the bodies of workers who dies because they were being over worked during its construction. The wall didn’t even work, the Mongols were able to overcome the structure in most locations. Even the Chinese state heritage officials refused to endorse the competition for new wonders and didn’t broadcast the Wall’s recognition.

Petra, Jordan

Whenever humans live underground people become awe inspired. I personally can’t imagine living without windows, I already have to work without them and can’t stand that. Living underground has been done for thousands of year, although not with this much aesthetic value. The underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey and ancient cave paintings can attest how long we have gone underground to hide or find spirituality.

Machu Piccu



A 15th-century mountain Inca settlement in the Amazon region of Peru. The site sits on a mountain 7,970-feet-high. It has great architecture, equaling in grandeur to that which can be found in Mesopotamia, but at an altitude that limits oxygen and access to supplies.

Chichén Itzá

A Mayan temple city. The city was a religious and political center for the Mayan civilization. The Mayan’s were the largest civilization in the world during their time of power, which lasted from A.D. 750 to 1200.

The Taj Mahal



The domed mausoleum is regarded as the finest example of Mughal art and architecture. Construction began in 1632 and ended in 1647.

The variety of areas represented in the “new” Wonders of the World is impressive. South America, an area that had previously gone unrepresented, is home to 3 of the 7 wonders. This is a cheering feet, since the ancient civilizations from this area have often been underrepresented, which can be seen in the “old” wonders of the world which are located entirely in the Mediterranean area.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is not one of my favorite holidays. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am not particularly fan of turkey, a meat which is currently occupying the majority of my refrigerator. This year Thanksgiving was slightly more enjoyable than most.

The Dallas Cowboys won... always a plus... their holiday game, despite having to play the previous Sunday. many people say that the teams that play on Thanksgiving should get a bye the week before. "It's unfair to ask them to play so soon." I do not believe this. Football players are supposed to be the greatest of all men. The Man's Man. Well a real man can play 60 minutes of football twice in a period of 5 days. Let's not be lenient on these guys. Both teams have had the same amount of prep time, thus neither team should have an inherent advantage. There will still be a winner and a loser.

Another plus... my cat, Tramples, has finally arrived and will be living with me from now on. Prior to this Thanksgiving she had lived with my parents, as I tried to find a relatively cheep apartment that allows cute fluffy animals. I had missed her greatly, and she definitely made this Thanksgiving better just by being her wonderful self.

Oh yeah, and my parents came to me this Thanksgiving, thus I didn't have to deal with holiday travel, while my Mom still cooked the Turkey. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me.


All in all it was a good day.

Meeting People

I'm a relatively outgoing person. I can sit down and talk to strangers if need be, but I wouldn't call myself overly social. (Like those people who get on a plane or train and just start talking to you! I can't stand those people. I am not on a train to talk. I am on a train to get somewhere, and in the meantime I'm going to enjoy the ride by napping and reading. Just cause I'm sitting next to you does not mean I want to talk about your niece Lizzy and her new disgustingly cute habit.) That is why this weekend was so interesting.

I met tons of people, by which I mean 7. Still a high number when you consider I spent most of the weekend in my apartment. I went out with a friend to a local billiards place and while we were there we joined up with a group of girls who had recently moved to the area. After about an hour we met a group of guys who had been living here for about a year. out of our 3 groups, none of us had ever met before, but we hit it off. We spent the night playing darts (which we all stunk at) and dancing at a club (where we were heckled by the other dancers with a chorus of "Go White Girl"). At the end of the night we all exchanged numbers and went our separate ways.

The next morning I was ridding in the elevator of my building with a guy named Tommy. We started a conversation (which is unusual for me as you could probably tell by my ideas about talking while traveling) and decided to get together again sometime.

All in all it was a very social weekend for me.

People on the Metro

I commute a fare distance on the Metro going to and from work. Now that I've been doing this for a few months I have noticed that there a few repeat characters. Last night I saw a family that I typically only see in the mornings. I was very surprised to see them on my commute home.

This family is the typical American family with a mom, dad and child. They get on the metro at Forest Glen and ride into the city. The mom probably works in a law firm or at a court office. This theory comes from the types of documents she is typically holding when she exits at Judiciary Square.

The father and son continue along the red line after her departure. I'm not entirely sure what the dad does in the day. He continues on the Red line after I transfer at Metro Center. I feel like he has a fun job somewhere. He wears jeans and simple sweaters.

The little boy is of Asian decent, adopted by his Caucasian parents. He is adorable. He is still young enough to stand on his mother's lap while riding the train, however judging by his size and her face after about a minute of this I think she's going to start vetoing that idea in a month. He seems like a smart child, his stroller is always filled with little books, which I've seen his dad read to him.

I have grown a fondness for this family and their morning intersations. It's just anouther reason why I love the city. You can develope an unwriten relationship with people you've never met.

More Pictures

A cyclone kills thousands and leaves even more stranded in Bangladesh.



The Writer's guild went on strike this week, as this cartoon seen in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel shows. this is just bad timing (depending on your point of view of course). With the busiest TV season at hand we viewers are going to be sadly feeling the down sides of this strike. Meanwhile networks such as Fox must be ecstatic with their decision to rely heavily on reality tv.



Jones Soda Co. is selling holiday-themed packs of flavored sodas. This crazy soda has flavors like: Sugar Plum, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Christmas Ham, Jelly Doughnut, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coins and Latkes sodas. Yum!



While Romo is behind Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre among the NFC quarterbacks, 10 other Cowboys were leading their respective positions from the fan votes for Pro-Bowl.

The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles Freeman

I just finished a book titled "The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason" by Charles Freeman. I really enjoyed this book. Freeman takes the reader along the path of Christianity from just before Christ to the Renaissance. Freeman follows a series of events with a perspective that is not typically expressed, as it is not how the Church views it's past.

When looking at the title of the book I thought that it was going to be about undermining the Church. Saying that the Church squandered the potential of the human mind. I am happy to say that this was not the case. Freeman did not write this book to bash the Church, but to show that "Greek intellectual tradition was suppressed rather than just faded out" as is the widespread belief.

Here are a few quotes of Freeman, or of others that he used to enforce his points.

"If truth is to be effectively advanced any findings must be open to challenge, and this means that even the greatest thinkers must never be made into figures of authority"

- on the stance of Greeks prior to the foundation of Christianity.

"No authority can dictate in advance what can and can not be believed, or there is no possibility of progress."

Greek philosopher/scientist predicts an eclipse. This was the start of Greek Philosophy, and the idea that the cosmos had an observable order.

"As long as no ruler attempted to force a definition of the Supreme Deity fruitful speculations about 'him' and 'his' nature could continue."

-on why debate about a supreme god could flourish in ancient Greece and Rome.

By the 4th century Paul and the Old Testament were used to justify the destruction of pagan art and architecture.

Constantine's philosophy did NOT involve Jesus. Constantine created a relationship between Christ and war for political reasons. This was not backed by scripture.

"You submit to the judgement of the elders (in all you do and think)"

-Basil on how monks should act in a monastery.

Pagan teachers had their licenses (parrhesia- freedom of speech) to instruct others removed.

St. Augustine was unknowingly using poor Latin translations of a Greek and Hebrew bible. This caused a moss of meaning and could lead to misinterpretation.

"Now we have no more meetings, no more debates, no more gatherings of wise men in the agora, nothing more of all that made our city famous."

-An ancient Roman's account of how his city had changed.

The penalties for transgressing the boundaries in this world and the next were too great for debate. The volume of heresies that caused you to be condemned in this world and the next worried those who would have debated to the point that people made the effort to focus only on what is acceptable and not step off of that line.

"The Arabs sustained the Greek tradition by valuing the intellectual achievements of the past without being overawed by them." - Freedman on how Greek tradition stayed alive in the Arab world, which would later come to help in the time of the Renaissance.

St. Thomas Aquinas restored the relationship between reason and faith.

For a more coherent explanation of Freedman's book and more information I suggest... reading the book. It's really good. It makes you think, but only about the bureaucracy of the Church, it never addresses the authenticity of Christianity, just the authenticity of it's Orthodoxy.

CSI: Sara

CSI, the origional, is one of my favorite shows. I have had difficulties seeing the show this season, however I still try to catch it as much as possible. A big change is about to happen on the show. It seems that they are getting rid of the charecter Sara Sidle.

Sara, played by Jorja Fox, has been with the show since the first season. She came onto the show in the second episode, following the murder of a fellow CSI in the pilot. Personally, I never really liked Sara on CSI. Her arrival at CSI in the first season always felt a bit off. In fact, of all the charecters, I'm glad Sara is leaving. She has grown on me over the years but I never felt her charecter really fit the show. All the other charecter's fit together so well and gave room to have side plots and for the viewers to really relate. I always felt that they gave Sara the "love" story because her charecter was the weakest. Now that they've sorta played that out it only makes sense that she's leaving.

Now I wonder how their going to send her off. There are alot of theories out there: murder, mental breakdown, something invloving her mother. Since I haven't been able to watch much this season I'm not going to hazard a guess, but I do hope it is a good send off. Her charecter has been here for too long to just send her off.

How will Grissom handle Sara's departure?

I can't wait to find out.

Walk Like An Egyptian

All the old paintings on the tombs
They do the sand dance don't you know
If they move too quick (oh whey oh)
They're falling down like a domino

All the bazaar men by the Nile
They got the money on a bet
Gold crocodiles (oh whey oh)
They snap their teeth on your cigarette

Foreign types with the hookah pipes say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like an Egyptian

Blonde waitresses take their trays
They spin around and they cross the floor
They've got the moves (oh whey oh)
You drop your drink then they bring you more

All the school kids so sick of books
They like the punk and the metal band
When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh)
They're walking like an Egyptian

All the kids in the marketplace say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like an Egyptian

Slide your feet up the street bend your back
Shift your arm then you pull it back
Life is hard you know (oh whey oh)
So strike a pose on a Cadillac

If you want to find all the cops
They're hanging out in the donut shop
They sing and dance (oh whey oh)
Spin the clubs cruise down the block

All the Japanese with their yen
The party boys call the Kremlin
And the Chinese know (oh whey oh)
They walk the line like Egyptian

All the cops in the donut shop say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like an Egyptian
Walk like an Egyptian

I love how a song can sweep you up and send your mind racing back to a different time and place. This is one of those songs for me. The Bangles one-hit-wonder doesn't hold any specific significance for me, however the memories that I associate with it are priceless. (Yes I know that was a very corny line)

When I was in High school my roommate and I would dance to this song, and others, late into the evening. Are favorite activity to do with this particular song was to stand in the windowsill and do the famous "Egyptian" dance. That's right folks! We were two crazy mummies!! (haha, another great line!)

I was listening to this song tonight as I downloaded it to i-tunes (a new thing for me, as I only download i-tunes about...a week ago) from a cd my roommie had made me to remind me of our awesome times. Immediately after hearing the opening notes I remembered being in that windowsill. (The best part about that dance was we had the room directly above the main entrance to the school.)

A great song with wonderful memories.

Pictures

Since I forgot to post a pictures last Friday this week will be a combination of last week and this week.



In the biggest Football game since..well the Superbowl.. Manning and the Colts faced Brady and the Patriots. This time Brady came out on top, outscoring the undefeted Superbowl Champions. Here the two quarterbacks are seen shaking hands after the game.



A fish out of water. The Mangrove Rivulus is found here living in a damp log.



Queen Elizabeth II gives a speach, which she had never seen before, durring the "opening of Parlimont" ceremonies. Her Magisty has reigned since February 1952.



The Boston Redsox celebrate their win in the World Series over The Colorodo Rockies.



A baby Giraffe was born last week. In honor of the baby's team of caretakers' favorite sports team the giraffe was named Sox.

Fish breaths... Air??

That's right folks. A very unique fish, the mangrove rivulus, also known as the mangrove killifish, is native to the Americas and is about two inches long, is able to live out of water.

National Geographic has reported studies that suggest the animals can breathe continuously through their skin, as long as they remain in a moist environment. The fish have been discovered to crowd together in logs when their habit, a swamp, annually dries up. Scientists estimate that the fish can live out of the water for 66 days.

The mangrove rivulus is not new to scientific study. It has a very rare sexual design. It's the only vertebrate known to naturally self-fertilize. In some populations, it can become a hermaphrodite, developing both male and female parts simultaneously. In these situations it has been known to clone itself.

The preliminary results of research will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal American Naturalist.

This fish could be key to understanding how life original left the oceans and came onto land.

Privy Prop

This friday Ellen Degeneres will be hosting a show about young inventors. These are brilliant kids who have invented something that not only is fully funtional, but practical.

Jake built a toilet seat "raiser" that has a foot pedal. He built a plywood base and then cut thin pieces of steel and fashioned a teeter-totter at the bottom. You step on it and the seats raises. You step off and it closes.

I am amazed at how a kid could come up with a concept like this. Jake says he got the idea when he saw a trash can with a foot pedal and thought that would be a great solution to his problem. Apparently he was constantly being scolded by his mother for not putting the seat down, which lead to her falling into the toilet. Normally I would say the mother should look where she is sitting, but in this case it lead to Jake's effective use of his creativity.

Great Job Jake!

My application for the postion of Clerk in a Tropical Fish Store

In light of the recent opening of Parliament here are the most ridiculous British laws, as voted upon in a British newspaper poll. :
1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (What’s the punishment?)
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (Understandable, after all we wouldn’t want here to get a headache.)
3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (Um…yeah)
4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day.
5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (All burglars please take note of this law.)
6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet (HAHA. I can’t wait to be pregnant and travel to Britain! Changing of the Guards here I come!)
7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen (I wonder where they would store such property.)
8. It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (Hmm?? I think this one speaks for itself.)
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armor (Is the punishment death? If so can you really punish him for dying in Parliament?)
10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (But let him be if he has a gun and dynamite.)

A Holiday For All Ages

Halloween is one of those great holidays that has something for everyone. New Year's is for adults, let's face the kids only enjoy the fireworks and that lasts 10 minutes at most. Valentine's is for the lovers. 4th of July comes close, but for kids it's really the fireworks again. Christmas is for kids (adults have fun too, but after buying all the presents, the tree, and dealing with Santa's everywhere Christmas is both wonderful and dreadful).

Halloween is for everyone. Kids get to dress up and go to their neighbors houses and get free candy!! Adults get to eat all the left over candy and not feel guilty, while dressing up as a fun charecter (such as a Bumble Bee or Tarzan) and stay out late at a few parties.

Yesterday my roommates and I threw a Halloween extraviganza. We had been decorating and preparing for 3 days and the place looked amazing. Everyone was in costumes. We had a Dorthy, Tarzan, Optimus Prime, Jesus and many other wild and crazy charecters.

Halloween is a great time to let the little kid inside take over.

$40,326

On of the origional hard cover "Harry Potter and the Philosepher's Stone" was auctioned off the other day for $40,326. The book was from the origional printing in 1997, of 500 copies, and signed "Joanne Rowling."

This is a testament to the success of JK Rowling. Not only has she successfully credited an enterpirse for herself, selling nearly 400 million copies of the various books, but she has stepped into the world of collectables. Diehard fans who can offered to buy rare copies of the Harry Potter series seem more than willing to do it. In May, a copy of "Philosopher's Stone" inscribed with a personal dedication to the owner sold for more than $55,000.

Harry Potter has been translated into at least 64 languages. It has been adapted for all ages, including special childrens versions, and for multiple cultures (an example is the "Philosepher's Stone" of England and the "Sorcerer's Stone" of the US).

Meanwhile my parents threw out my orgional copies of the books, thus making me have to buy them new as a box set. Oh to have the originals back again...of course I doubt I'd get over $40,000, or even $1,000 for that matter, but who knows what will happen with time, I could make $50.

Pictures of the Week

California Wildfires continue to strike havoc. The destruction is horrid, while more and more families are being evacuated out of the area.



A cat sits in his custom made kitty stroller on the last day of a cat competition. I had no idea that they even made these and am shocked that any cat would actually stay seated in it once the stroller started to move. This must be one behaved kitty.



Participants in an underwater pumpkin carving contest, hosted in Florida, pose with their unique pumpkins.



In the past U.N. sanctions kept tourists from visiting this Libya for more than a decade. Now this North African country is opening its borders for tourism. Libya is the home to a great many ancient cities and ruins. The opening up of it's borders will provide tourists and anthropologists a rare glimpse into a part of history that has been closed for many years. The country has ancient ruins that rival Greece and Italy, including the ancient city of Cyrene. The Sanctuary of Apollo in Cyrene is pictured here.



The Black and White Ruffed lemur is one of the many endangered species today.

NYC

This past weekend I was in New York. It was a blast. I went there to visit my best friend (who I will refer to as Brooklyn, since that is where she lives), whom I hadn't seen since June. That alone made the trip worth while, despite the outrageous fees that Amtrak likes to place on travelers. Where are the days where taking the train was cheaper than a plane? Overall the weekend was better than I could have anticipated, and because of that I want to share it here.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday. I had arrived late the previous night and Brooklyn and I had stayed up talking about nothing. Down the street from her apartment is this little "restaurant." It's kinda a dive, but the food is good. We both got the breakfast special: 2 eggs, french fries and toast for $2. Amazing!

After breakfast we went to see where Brooklyn teaches. A nice private school. A huge upgrade from the school she taught at in France. Here the students actually listen and respond to discipline. The best part of her school is the walk way along the river. It's just a couple blocks from her school. We went there and watched the helicopters fly around the city. There was one helicopter that were pretty sure had a student driver (although others have theorized that they were filming something for the news). This helicopter hovered in the same place for a good 15 minutes. then he flew down the river and hovered again, then he landed. I know this doesn't sound interesting, but we were engrossed in trying to figure out what it was doing and why. It's amazing how much life an animated conversation can give a far odd piece of machinery. There was also a light blue helicopter that was really pretty, but it didn't do anything of interest.

After watching the helicopters we went for lunch. Then we went to the Met. This is when things got really interesting. Somehow we ended up in the exhibit rooms with out having gone through the main entrance, and thus not paying the suggested fee. Now I'm not sure if the suggested fee is really a suggestion or if it's in fact a permanent fee, but we did not pay it! We did get caught by a security guard and had to leave the exhibit at one point, but due to a little quick thinking we did not get in trouble. We had tickets for a lecture latter in the evening, and used those to get a pass into the main exhibit. The met is truly a beautiful museum.

While waiting for the lecture to begin we sat outside and judged people. That's right we said out loud what everyone thinks, but no one says. We rated the dress of both men and women on a scale of 1-17, 17 being the best. Yes 17 is a random number, and I give full credit to Brooklyn for that. I apparently am a much harsher critic. My lowest score was a 5, while Brooklyn's was an 8. Her highest was 16.5, compared to my 15, although we typically agreed on whether an outfit was good or bad.

The lecture was on archaeological findings in Egypt. It was given by the head of Egyptian archaeology. This guy was hilarious. He kept throwing joke in between talking about Kings and Queen of Ancient Egypt.

"I was excited to find his (King Tut) erection, because erection in ancient Egypt meant resurrection!"

You could hear the passion in this man's voice. I hope that when I have been in the discipline for as long as he I can still feel that way, and show my enthusiasm in a way that reaches those of all ages.

"The Valley of the Kings still contain mystery and magic"

After the long day out we went home to make dinner. Spaghetti O's, followed by Strawberry shortcake ice cream bars.

Liberal Quaker

I took an on-line quiz and found out that I am a "Liberal Quaker." Here I've been trying to find my spiritual self for so long and the answers were just one electonic quiz away!

1. Liberal Quakers (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
3. Neo-Pagan (94%)
4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (91%)
5. New Age (87%)
6. Secular Humanism (79%)
7. Mahayana Buddhism (78%)
8. Reform Judaism (78%)
9. Theravada Buddhism (72%)
10. New Thought (68%)

check it our yourself.

Reading Material

I graduated from college this past May, and ever since I've been reading romantic novel after romantic novel. As fun as this is, recently I've noticed people around me talking about books that I haven't read, i.e. non-romantic novels, or about topics I'm not all that informed in. So I've decided I need to start reading something a bit deeper than what's been on my nightstand of late.

It's great to dream about reading topics of great depth and having enlightened conversations, but is it really practical. I've gone through this phase before. Whishing I was more informaed about culture, history and science I have stopped reading "fun" books and gone on long excursions through the non-fiction side of the library. This has never lasted very long (hence my 6 month hiatus in the real of romance). So how will it work this time.

I came up with a theory. It isn't based on any facts, but I'm going to test it out. 1 "heavy" book is intellectually equal to 3 "fun" books. I base this theory on the idea that 1 of the former category will take the same amount of time as 3 of the later. Also, 1 of the former will drain your brain, and body of energy that is equivalent to the amount of energy you regain from 3 of the later. So I am off to test my theory. I just read a series of fun books, and now have started my "heavy" book: The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles Freeman. I have even been taking notes on the book.

Hopefully my theory will prove true, and I will be able to read these heavy books while managing to keep my energy up, and not lose my desire to read. This will hopefully warm me up before I start Graduate School next year.

Pictures!

Here are five pictures that I like that are from this week. Enjoy!



This is of the tallest Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras, in North Carolina (and possibly all of the east coast, but I'm not positive about that). I didn't visit the light house during this past trip to NC, but I did go the time before that.



I believe this picture captures nature in her purest sense. It's beautiful yet violent. There a group of penguins seem desolet on the blueiceburg as the harsh sea crashes around them.



Archaeologists discovered the wall painting among the ruins of an 11,000-year-old house in northern Syria—making it the oldest wall painting ever discovered. French archaeologist and team leader Eric Coqueugniot stated that "There was a purpose in having the painting in what looked like a communal house, but we don't know it." This painting and Eric's statement shows the wonderful and frustrating aspects of archaeology.




Scientists explored a deep ocean basin in the Philippines in search of species isolated for millions of years found marine life believed to be previously undiscovered. This basin is believed to have been secluded from the rest of the ocean, both physically and biologically, and thus many of the species have evolved separately. Here are pictures of a Juvenile Box Fish and a Jelly Fish.

R2-D2

George Lucas has plans to create two new additions to his Star Wars empire. The first is a possible animated film. As much as I love Star Wars I really can't see how an animated film is supposed to add to the Star Wars franchise. The origional films were great because they pushed the barriers of the imagination and special effects. With animated films, such as Shrek and Beowolf, I am having difficulty seeing how George Lucas can push the animated envelope. Perhaps I am not giving George Lucas enough credit and am not being creative enough in my ponderings, but I do not see an animated film adding anything to what already is Star WArs.

The second addition is a TV series based off of the films. I do not know if the series will continue the story after the Fall of the Empire or be a side story, ment to add to the events that we already know. Lucas has stated that the series will not involve the Skywalker family. It would be interesting to see the events from another perspective, but It just feels wrong to have a Star Wars media production, I'm not including the various books on the subject here, with out Darth Vadar. Lucas has hinted that the show may follow the story line of the androids. As much as I would love to see a show centered on R2-D2 and C-3PO I hope that they would be able to keep the story lines interesting enough to compansated for the fact that one droid doesn't speak (although it has a wonderful variety of beeps) and the other lacks emotion (except for fear).

I hope that Geogre Lucas is going to make these two additions better then the last 3 movies. I feel that he may just be making these things because their almost garunteed to bring in money. While that's great for him, it stinks for all those Star Wars fans who have grown loving the origional films only to find them being darkend by new, comercial, additions.

Rest and Relaxation

This past weekend I went to the North Carolina beach. My Godparents have a beach house there. It was a calm weekend. I hadn’t seen my Godparents in a little over 2 years and I hadn’t seen their Godson, who also visited for the weekend, in 4 years. We reminisced and rested in beach chairs our on the deck. I got to play with their two dogs, Primo and Moosey, and their cat, Baby (which made me miss my Trampies even more).

Although the weekend was calm, full of reading and watching movies, it was far from relaxing. I’ve never been more aware of the fact that you can do nothing all day, but still feel utterly exhausted by evening. I don’t think I’ve gotten more sleep than I did this weekend in months, yet on Monday morning I was far more exhausted than I would have been if I had played Frisbee or partied all weekend. It’s strange how the body works.

5-0

Dallas goes into this weekend with a great and heavy record. There is a lot of glory that comes with starting the season 5-0, but there is also a lot of pressure. On top of the typical pressures to maintain an undefeated score this week Dallas is also facing the pressure of the Patriots, who are also 5-0. Most American will tune into this afternoon game on Sunday (I unfortunately will be on a train and unable to get anywhere near a tv screen.)

TO, a man who is all talk, all media, and always in the spotlight, has taken a new approach to this weeks game. Instead of doing interviews and catering to the media he is staying away from reporters. Leaving them with only a note:

"Due to the magnitude of this week's game and high volume of questions for the Original 81 about the other 81. I will be taking all questions immediately following Sunday's game.”

Although this note is filled with the cockiness we have all grown to love and expect from TO, it is uncharacteristic. I appreciate the note, and can only hope that since TO isn’t talking about how great he is, he will show us on Sunday.

Home sweet..Mall??

To live in a mall. That’s the dream of every 15 year old girl. A few artists started to live that dream in secret in 2003. Unfortunately their mall housing was swiftly taken away when they walked into their humble abode recently to find Mall security.

These guys must be excellent pranksters.

They were able to live in a room since 2003 unnoticed by shoppers and security alike. They constructed a 750 sq. foot apartment our of red brick and attached a relatively non-descript maintenance door to the front. Inside they had electricity (fit with a Playstation 2) and all the amenities, except for running water. The water was easy enough to live with out, especially since they were attached to a mall filled with public restrooms.

Congrats guys, you have come up with one of the most inexpensive and creative ways to avoid paying rent.

Car vs Home

“A Harvard School of Public Health report issued last year said secondhand smoke in cars can be up to 10 times more of a health risk than secondhand smoke in a home.”

Although this study’s findings may be obvious they are important. Think of all those people who were told to smoke outside instead of in the house so the smoke wouldn’t be trapped in the house. Now imagine that in a car. Of course it’s worse, it’s a smaller space, thus your breathing it in a more condensed form for a longer period of time.

No, it does not help to have your cigarette poking out the window. As a non-smoker who has many friends who smoke and thus have been subject to riding in a car with them, I can attest that it is still pungent.

But I digress. The point is that studies like these have recently become a fad. Due to their popularity more information is flooding the general public. This has been putting pressure on the government, and thus, creating legislature. Recently the Governator signed a bill that bans smoking in cars while anyone under 18 is present. California is the third state to pass a bill that bans smoking in cars around children. The first two were Arkansas and Louisiana.

I have to cheer these states on in there efforts. There may not be any clear and complete evidence linking smoking or secondhand smoke to the world’s worst illnesses (or at least not that I know of), but no one can deny that smoking isn’t exactly a healthy choice. As more and more diseases are spreading to areas of the world they have never been in, (Take a look at a recent article in Times magazine, “The Changing Face of Breast Cancer,” and you’ll see how one disease is expanding its reach.) it is important to try to reduce the amount of dangerous chemicals and forces being introduced to today’s youth.

I’m not saying that we need to ban all things that can be seen as harmful. After all what’s the fun of living without a little risk. But risk should be something that we choose to do and should not be chosen for us by others. So again I say, this new legislation against secondhand smoke is a responsible choice by California and other states. At least until we learn more about why diseases like breast cancer are spreading faster and farther than ever.

Top Dog

Life is far more complicated than it needs to be. If I've learned anything in my 23 years of being it's that individuals survive on drama. We crave it. It is our ambrosia, except for one fatal flaw. Our ambrosia ends up stressing us out so that we die younger, unlike the original food of the Gods.

Do we care that drama shortens our lives? No.

Do we try to avoid drama? Consciously maybe, subconsciously no.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Well that's a question for the ages. Maybe some psychologist will have an answer for us one day. People of the 19th and 10th centuries have been trying to find the reasoning behind conflict in order to learn how to approach and remedy it. Today all I can do is offer up my own experiences as a case study.

All my life I have led myself into a series of highly stressful situations, although very few of them had to occur and if I changed one or two things none of them would have been stressful. So if it's such an easy fix why didn't I make the necessary changes? That's an easy question... I strive under the pressure of keeping everything balanced while having as much fun as possible. When everything is working I feel confident and invincible. I was doing pretty well, until recently. I had just one too many balls to juggle and two of the balls collided in mid air.

Now this collision took one of the potentially stressful situations out of my hands and into another. This person had a choice. A. Ignore it and move on. B. Over analyse and become emotionally connected.

The choice was made.

B.

There really wasn't another option, after all it is in our nature to crave drama. What is it about drama that draws us to it?

Some believe that drama/conflict stems from our animal instincts, aka the need for power. Just as dogs will vie for being the head male people fight for power over each other. Raymond W. Mack and Richard C. Snyder propose the following:

"Social conflict is normally accompanied by a felt or actual discrepancy in the power relations of the parties."

I would have to agree with Mack and Snyder. I can not recall a situation when power was up for grabs that anyone (including myself) who could take it did not try.

In the example posed above myself and the individual involved had just gone through a major shift in power. This moment provided the other person with an opportunity to regain some of that power. They took full advantage of that opportunity, and I can't say that I blame them. If our situations were reversed I probably would have done the same.

My Environmental Rant

Recently the environment has been getting a lot of press. Cyclones are becoming ever more frequent, dispersing more and more heat to earth's poles and the bottom of the oceans. Drinking water is losing the battle against bottled water as more and more fresh water is contaminated by local sewage and pollutants.

In Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, China residents are being forced to hoard bottled water, because the lake that normally supplies their tape water is contaminated. Residents say that the water is too dirty to bath in and emits an overpowering stench.
The water has been polluted for years, as factories move in to the area, but it is due to the recent lack of rainfall that has caused the water level to decrease, allowing for dangerous algee to grow at a hazardous pace.
Scientists say that the "draught" will last for at least 4 more months. With the ever increasing prices of water, due to a high demand and low supply, this could cause major problems for the city, and China.

Short of moving the local chemical industry out, and doing a rain dance there isn't much that can be done for that area at the present time. However, scientist are making improvements elsewhere to reduce the amount of pollutants and hopefully save the environment.

Engineer Guy Nègre has recently developed a car that will run entirely on compressed air. The car will not use gasoline, thus will use less fossil fuels than any other car on the market, and will not have a battery, which will, later, not be put in a landfill.
Sound like a win win situation right! Not quite. It is highly doubted that the car will pass US safety tests, and thus may never make it into the largest auto market in the world. However, it will be sold in India, Germany and South Africa. A decent start.
The car is built for city driving, maxing out at 68 mph. So, it probably won't make it out on those European highways, but when do you need to go over 68 mph in a city?
For all of you who want to get the most out of your buck this car may be your ticket. It costs only $2.00 to fill up, that's the whole tank not just a gallon with costs over $3. Those $2.00 will take you 125 miles. Not bad.

For those of us who may not have access to the AirCar here is a list of the top 30 environmentally friendly cars on the market.
Acura RSX
Chevrolet Aveo
Chevrolet Cobalt
Ford Escape Hybrid
Ford Focus
Ford Focus Wagon
Honda Accord
Honda Accord Hybrid
Honda Civic
Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda Insight
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Kia Rio
Kia Spectra
Lexus RX400h
Mazda Mazda3
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Mercury Mariner Hybrid
Nissan Sentra
Saturn Ion
Scion xA
Suzuki Reno
Toyota Camry
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Toyota Prius
Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen New Beetle

If you think all hybrid cars are boxy and/or slow check out the Mazda MX-5 Miata. It's a sporty hybrid that is cute and will take you anywhere you want at top speed (if you can't tell it's my favorite).

Well that's enough of me talking up a cause.

"Touch the earth, love the earth, honour the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas; rest your spirit in her solitary places."
Henry Beston

A note to Mothers

So I may not be a mother. I definatly didn't go through that whole initiation period where you carry around a baby for 9 months and then push it out a very...very small hole, and therefore i would not call myself an expert. However, as a daughter, and a bystandard let me give you a piece of advise. Even if you have already convinced the father of not doing the thing that will make your child the most depressed being on the planet do not tell the child about the issue. I mean if it's all settled is there a reason to say "I didn't want to show up and hand you a dead cat." No there is NEVER a reason to say this. Especially if that cat has been with the child since it was a kitten. My mother did this to me today. I was shocked, mortified and disgusted.

That is my advice to all mothers.

oh yeah, and don't go into Borders and ask "If I become a member can I borrow books like at a library?"

Eat Shit and Die!!

A certain someone told me to eat shit and die today and it got me thinking... where on earth did that phrase come from. I imagine that eating shit is a pretty horrific experience. It is certainly something that I would never want to experience. As Greg mentioned earlier, it was probubly a form of mideval torture. Something that I would not be surprised about, but also one of the many accumilating reasons why I am thankful that I was not born into that time period. I may have grown up wishing I was a princess (with special powers) in a castle, but even as a princess I believe that the living conditions would be far below sub-par for my standards. People actually through their feces out into the streets where pedestrians were walking. Perhaps that is where the phrase eat shit came from.

However, this still does not explain where the "and die" part comes from. The only thing worse than eating shit is to die. Although if I had to actually chose between eating shit and dying I would probubly chose to die. So who put these two horrid acts together into one phrase? These curses alone are a face worse than death, and death so why combine them. I think that their combination is overkill. Whomever put these curses together was just showing off how harshly they could curse an individual. EAT SHIT AND DIE!

Now that I am examining this curse... why this has held my attention to this great an extent is beyond me... it doesn't really make sense. As I was saying before, the curse "eat shit" is a fate that I would consider worse than death, therefor if you followed a curse that is worse than death with death are you not alleviating the subject of your curse's pain? Is this not a contradiction? Wouldn't you want them to suffer continuosly, not briefly. I think the far worse curse is "live and eat shit," but that's just my oppinion. Maybe others would disagree.

The Excitement of a Twang

So I graduated yesterday! Yay for Me! The best part of graduating (besides never having to read about dead people unless I really want to) are the gifts. Cause as a college grad you need everything you can get. Well my bestfriend realized that now I would have a lot more free time so she got me a present to occupy my time. She bought me a brand new MOUTH HARP! That's right folks the harp that makes music by vibrating against your two front teeth. Well I was trying to make some sort of sound all yesterday and found it to be a very difficult task. Today I found my inspiration. I gave it one more try and TWANG a note echoed across the room (maybe anot an echo but a wisper, but there was still a note). I was so excited I stood up and immediatly lost my rythme (if you can call it that). I don't know what note it was, but it was my victory so I knew I had to immediatly share it with the world! I am a NOTE MAKER!

Watch the cake

Like every star wars fanatic, as a child (and still today) I dreamt of living on anouther planet. Today, thanks to some european scientist I am one step closer to achieving my dream. Ok so I know that in my lifetime I will never get the chance to actually step foot onto anouther plant, but I'm still totally stocked that they have discuvered an "earth-like" planet. 581 c is about the same size as Earth, orbiting a red dwarf star, and has the potential to not only have water, but a life-substaining atmosphere with temperatures between 30 and 104 degrees.

And so I leave you with this awesome news and my favorite part of the article that provided me with this info... "You could have a birthday party every 13 days because that's how fast this new planet circles its sun-like star. But watch the cake -- you'd weigh a whole lot more than you do on Earth."