We Hardly Knew Ye - People We Lost in December 2009

December 28th
James "The Rev" Sullivan, 28, American hard rock drummer (Avenged Sevenfold).

December 26th
Percy Sutton, 89, American civil rights activist, politician and attorney, Manhattan Borough President (1966–1977).

December 24th
Derek Loux, 37, American Christian music singer, car accident.

December 22nd
Michael Currie, 81, American actor (Dark Shadows, Sudden Impact).

December 21st
Ann Nixon Cooper, 107, American civil rights activist, mentioned in President Obama's election victory speech.

December 20th
James Gurley, 69, American guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company), heart attack.
Brittany Murphy, 32, American actress (Clueless, King of the Hill, 8 Mile), cardiac arrest.
Arnold Stang, 91, American actor (Top Cat, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World), pneumonia.

December 19th
Kim Peek, 58, American savant, inspiration for Rain Man, heart attack.
Loren Singer, 86, American novelist (The Parallax View).

December 18th
Connie Hines, 78, American actress (Mister Ed), heart failure.

December 17th
Alaina Reed Hall, 63, American actress (Sesame Street, 227), breast cancer.
Chris Henry, 26, American football player (Cincinnati Bengals), blunt force trauma after fall from vehicle.
Jennifer Jones, 90, American Academy Award-winning actress (The Song of Bernadette), natural causes.
Dan O'Bannon, 63, American screenwriter, director and actor, Crohn's disease.

December 16th
Arthur Cores, 52, American businessman, founder of Boston Market, esophageal cancer. Roy E. Disney, 79, American entertainment executive (The Walt Disney Company), nephew of Walt Disney, stomach cancer.
Bob Waldmire, 64, American Route 66 artist, cancer.

December 15th
Courtlandt Bryan, 73, American author (Friendly Fire), cancer.
Oral Roberts, 91, American evangelist, founder of Oral Roberts University, complications from pneumonia.

December 14th
Conard Fowkes, 76, American actor (Dark Shadows).
Sol Price, 93, American businessman, founder of Price Club, natural causes.

December 13th
Dan Barton, 88, American actor and voice-over actor, heart failure and kidney disease. Yvonne King, 89, American singer (The King Sisters).

December 12th
Val Avery, 85, American actor (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie).
Robert G. Heft, 67, American designer of the 50-star American flag.

December 10th
Kenny Dino, 67, American pop singer

December 9th
Gene Barry, 90, American actor (Burke's Law, Bat Masterson), heart failure.
Luther Smith, 89, American pilot, member of the Tuskegee Airmen, heart attack.

December 7th
Mark Ritts, 63, American actor and puppeteer (Beakman's World), kidney cancer.

December 5th
Malcolm Perry, 80, American attending physician to President John F. Kennedy after his assassination, lung cancer.
Jack Rose, 38, American guitarist, heart attack.

December 4th
Liam Clancy, 74, Irish folk singer (The Clancy Brothers), pulmonary fibrosis.

December 2nd
Joan Castle, 95, American actress.

December 1st
Maurice Clemmons, 37, American felon, suspected of Lakewood police officer shooting, shot.

Sunshine Cleaning - Trailer

Here's The Joke

The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whispered, "Hello?"

Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster the boss asked, "Is your Daddy home?"

"Yes," whispered the small voice.

"May I talk with him?" the man asked.

To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, "No."

Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"

"Yes", came the answer.

"May I talk with her?"

Again the small voice whispered, "No".

Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child.

"Is there anyone there besides you?" the boss asked the child.

"Yes" whispered the child, "A policeman."

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"

"No, he's busy," whispered the child.

"Busy doing what?" asked the boss.

Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the fireman," came the whispered answer.

Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone the boss asked, "What is that noise?"

"A hello-copper," answered the whispering voice.

"What is going on there?" asked the boss, now alarmed.

In an awed whispering voice the child answered, "The search team just landed the hello-copper."

Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated, the boss asked, "Why are they there?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle, "They're looking for me."

Wax Stag - And How

Wax Stag - And How from Clem Stamation on Vimeo.

Signs You're At A Bad New Year's Eve Party

1. To give it a Times Square feel, everyone is groped, fondled and pick-pocketed

2. The 'Party Hats' look suspiciously like stolen traffic cones

3. There's a "Happy 2007" sticker on the packet of shrimp you've been eating all night

4. It's January 6th

5. Prison regulations require lights out at 10:00 pm

6. The guests have decided to start the midnight countdown at 10,000

7. The 'Champagne' tastes suspiciously like apple juice mixed with Alka Seltzer

The Best Dirty Martini

For Two Cocktails:

lots of ice
6 ounces of your favorite vodka
1 cap’s worth of extra dry vermouth (I like Martini & Rossi)
1 tablespoon of cocktail olive brine
6 high quality cocktail olives (preferably stuffed with pimentos)

Fill your shaker with ice and add the vodka, vermouth and olive brine. Close it tightly and shake it for ages until it’s all snowy on the outside. Place 3 olives into the bottom of a martini glass, strain over half of your icy cold mixture and repeat with the remaining olives and mixture in another glass. Give one to a lucky friend.

Spector of Terror Inspires Bilious Cheney

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What Congress' health care overhaul likely means for you

Now that the Senate has passed a hotly debated health care bill, Congress is headed to the next step: House of Representatives-Senate negotiations in January to hammer out a final version. Given the Senate's difficulty in passing a bill, the final legislation is likely to tilt strongly toward that chamber's version. Here's where things stand and how you might be affected.

Is an Alaska fisherman's list of Sarah Palin's accomplishments accurate?

There's some truth to a number of his claims, but some are also false or misleading.

World's Highest Glacier Is Set to Melt Into History

The Ten Worst Nightmares Bush Inflicted on America

The top ten worst things about the wretched period, which will continue to follow us until citizens stand up to fix them.

Oscar the dog visits most famous landmarks

A dog called Oscar is has laid claim to the title of the animal kingdom's most intrepid explorer after visiting famous landmarks around the world.

Teresa Heinz Has Breast Cancer

Teresa Heinz, wife of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, has announced that, in late September, doctors discovered cancer in her left breast following a routine mammogram. In early October, she had lumpectomies on both breasts after doctors discovered what looked like a benign growth, but turned out to be cancer, in her right breast. Next month, she will receive five days of targeted chemotherapy that could raise her survival odds to 99 percent. The 71-year-old Heinz said she felt "upset" at the recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation that women begin receiving mammograms at age 50 instead of age 40. She argued that the cost of mammography is far less than the physical and personal toll of chemotherapy, noting that women ages 40 to 60 must undergo aggressive chemo if their cancer is not detected early.

Read more

We Hardly Knew Ye - Those We Lost in November 2009

November 30th
Harry C. Crosby, 84, American science fiction writer under pen name Christopher Anvil.

November 29th
Lee Pelty, 74, American stage actor, lung cancer.

November 28th
Jeff Hoover, 41, American football coach (Eastern Illinois University), car accident. Bob Keane, 87, American music producer and manager, founder of Del-Fi Records, renal failure.

November 27th
Al Alberts, 87, American singer (The Four Aces), kidney failure.
Alice McGrath, 92, American activist (Sleepy Lagoon murder trial), infection from a chronic illness.
Mike Penner, 52, American sportswriter (Los Angeles Times), suicide.
Irving Tripp, 88, American comic book artist (Little Lulu), cancer.
Warren Vanders, 79, American actor, lung cancer.

November 22nd
Francisco Rodriguez, 25, American Golden Gloves boxer, brain injury sustained during match.


November 20th
Lester Shubin, 84, American developer of the bulletproof Kevlar vest, heart attack.

November 19th
Daul Kim, 20, South Korean fashion model, suicide by hanging.
Uga VII, 4, American English bulldog mascot (University of Georgia), heart attack.


November 16th
Jan Leighton, 87, American actor, complications from a stroke.
Olivia Patricia Thomas, 114, American supercentenarian, third-oldest person in the world.
Bucky Williams, 102, American baseball player, second-oldest Negro League Baseball player.
Dennis Cole, 69, American actor. Ken Ober, 52, American comedian and game show host (Remote Control).

November 12th
Paul Wendkos, 87, American television and film director (Gidget), complications of a stroke.

November 11th
Marvin Minoff, 78, American film and television producer (The Nixon Interviews, Patch Adams).
John Jay O'Connor, 79, American lawyer, husband of Sandra Day O'Connor, Alzheimer's disease.

November 10th
Dick Katz, 85, American jazz pianist and arranger, lung cancer.
David Lloyd, 75, American comedy writer ("Chuckles Bites the Dust"), prostate cancer.
John Allen Muhammad, 48, American spree killer (Beltway Sniper), execution by lethal injection.
Ramin Pourandarjani, 26, Iranian doctor, whistleblower on use of torture, poisoned.


November 8th
Ellen Ahrndt, 87, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League).
Jerry Fuchs, 34, American drummer (Maserati, !!!), fall.

November 7th
Donald Harington, 73, American author, cancer.
Joe Maross, 86, American actor, cardiac arrest.

November 6th
Ron Sproat, 77, American television writer (Dark Shadows), heart attack.


November 4th
Art D'Lugoff, 85, American jazz nightclub owner (The Village Gate), heart attack.

November 3rd
Charles August, 90, American businessman, founder of Monro Muffler and Brake.
Carl Ballantine, 92, American actor (McHale's Navy), natural causes.
Brother Blue, 88, American storyteller, performance artist, after short illness.

November 2nd
Princess Haya bint Abdulaziz, 80, Saudi royal, sister of King Abdullah.
Nien Cheng, 94, Chinese author and political prisoner.
Lou Filippo, 83, American boxing referee and judge, member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, stroke.
Phil Lumpkin, 57, American NBA player and high school basketball coach, pneumonia.

November 1st
Esther Hautzig, 79, American Holocaust survivor and writer.
Alan Ogg, 42, American basketball player (Miami Heat), complications from staphylococcal infection.
Robert H. Rines, 87, American scientist, inventor, composer and Loch Ness Monster expert, heart failure.

Gingerbread Cookies

Makes 36 medium cookies
Hands-On Time: 25m
Total Time: 1hr 15m
Note: Total time includes cooling time

Ingredients

* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the work surface
* 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 2/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup molasses
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the molasses and egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

4. On a floured surface, roll the dough to ¼ inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut into shapes; place on parchment-lined baking sheets.

5. Bake until firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

6. Place confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl; gradually whisk in 1 tablespoon water until a thick icing forms. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip a small hole in one corner. Decorate cookies as desired and let set.

7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Today's Quote

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

- Albert Einstein

Fountain of Youth Discovered?

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB ) has published an important research paper that shows a clear link between calorie intake and the lifespan of human cells.

Researchers from the have discovered that restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed the death of precancerous human-lung cells, reducing cancer's spread and growth rate.

Read more

Why you might not want to trust that navigation system you got for Christmas

Couple stranded in snow for 3 days after navigation system sends them down remote forest road

10 Greediest People of 2009

As ordinary Americans reel from the Great Recession, these gluttonous all-stars continue to claw in absurd amounts of money.

Shortbread Wedges

Makes 12 wedges
Hands-On Time: 10m
Total Time: 1hr 50m

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
* 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for your fingers
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 cup coarse sanding or turbinado sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325° F.

2. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour and salt, mixing just until incorporated.

3. With floured fingers, press the dough into an 8-inch round cake pan. Cut the dough into 12 wedges and prick all over with a toothpick.

4. Sprinkle the dough with the sanding sugar and bake until golden and firm, 35 to 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, turn the shortbread out of the pan and use a serrated knife to recut along the lines. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: Total Time includes cooling time.

Gingery Poached Chicken Breasts With Green Beans and Potatoes

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 35m
Total Time: 35m

Ingredients

* 1 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
* 2 bunches scallions, trimmed
* 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
* 1/2 cup rice vinegar
* 4 cloves garlic
* 1 pound small new potatoes
* 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves
* 1 pound green beans, trimmed
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Thinly slice 2 inches of the ginger and add it to a large pot with 6 cups water, 1 bunch of the scallions, 1/2 cup of the soy sauce, 1/4 cup of the vinegar, the garlic, and potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about 8 minutes. Remove the potatoes and cut them into quarters.

2. Add the chicken to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until tender, 3 to 5 minutes; drain.

4. Thinly slice the remaining scallions and finely chop the remaining ginger. Place them in a bowl with the remaining soy sauce and vinegar. Whisk in the honey, sesame oil, cayenne, and olive oil. Add the green beans and potatoes and toss. Divide among individual plates and serve with the chicken.

Doesn't It Annoy You When...

1. There's a car alarm nearby that goes on for hours and
the owner is nowhere to be found?

2. You buy an answering machine so you won't miss any
calls, and then everyone hangs up when they hear the
machine answer?

3. There's a cop car in sight and everyone thinks they
have to drive 10-15 mph slower than the speed limit?

4. You're reading a magazine and all those annoying little
subscription cards keep falling out?

5. You tell someone that a door is locked and they try to
open it anyway, like it'll magically open for them and not
you.

6. Someone says, "well, to make a long story short" and
then they go on telling it for another 15 minutes.

7. A friend or family member says "Yuck! This is awful!!"
and then tells you to try some.

8. You have to inform five different sales people in the
same store that you're just looking around.

9. You rub on hand cream and can't turn the bathroom
doorknob to get out.

10. A waiter or waitress is not around at any time other
than right after you put food in your mouth.

11. Your tire gauge lets half the air in your tire when
all you want is a pressure reading.

12. The dog in your neighborhood that barks at EVERYTHING.

13. The power goes out, and you discover every flashlight
you have has dead batteries.

14. Someone gets in the express lane at the supermarket
and writes a check.

15. The elevator stops at every floor and nobody gets on.

16. You almost ALWAYS back up your computer files but the
week you don't, your hard drive crashes and you lose every-
thing.

We Hardly Knew Ye - Those We Lost in October 2009

October 30th
Norton Buffalo, 58, American singer-songwriter, blues harmonica player (Steve Miller Band), lung cancer.
Michelle Triola Marvin, 76, American plaintiff in landmark "palimony" lawsuit (Marvin v. Marvin), lung cancer.


October 27th
August Coppola, 75, American writer, literature professor and father of Nicolas Cage, heart attack.

October 26th
Troy Smith, 87, American businessman, founder of Sonic Drive-In chain, natural causes.

October 25th
Kevin Widemond, 23, American basketball player, heart attack.


October 23rd
Linda Day, 71, American television director, leukemia and breast cancer.

October 22nd
Soupy Sales, 83, American comedian and television host, cancer.
Elmer Winter, 97, American founder of Manpower Inc.

October 21st
Jack Nelson, 80, American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (1960), pancreatic cancer.

October 20th

Sultan Pepper, 47, American comedy writer, Emmy Award winner (The Ben Stiller Show).


October 18th
Jasper Howard, 20, American football player, stabbed.
Lenore Kandel, 77, American poet, lung cancer.

October 17th
Norma Fox Mazer, 78, American author, brain cancer.
Vic Mizzy, 93, American composer (The Addams Family, Green Acres),

October 15th
Elizabeth Clare Prophet, 70, American New Age religious leader, co-founder of The Summit Lighthouse, Alzheimer's disease.
George Tuska, 93, American Golden Age comic book artist (Iron Man).

October 14th
Lou Albano, 76, American professional wrestler and manager, actor (The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!), natural causes.
Willard Varnell Oliver, 88, American Navajo code talker.
Collin Wilcox, 74, American actress (To Kill a Mockingbird), brain cancer.

October 13th
Al Martino, 82, American singer and actor (The Godfather), first person to top the UK Singles Chart.
Daniel Melnick, 77, American studio chief (MGM, Columbia), television producer, executive producer (That's Entertainment!).


October 12th
Dickie Peterson, 63, American rock singer (Blue Cheer), liver cancer.

October 10th
Paul Bloom, 70, American lawyer, recovered $6 billion for the Department of Energy, pancreatic cancer.
Sonny Bradshaw, 83, Jamaican jazz musician, stroke.
Edward Knight, 82, American actor.

October 7th
Ben Ali, 82, American restaurateur (Ben's Chili Bowl), heart failure.
Shelby Singleton, 77, American record producer and record label owner (Sun Records), brain cancer.

October 6th
Pamela Blake, 94, American actress, natural causes.
Donna Mae Mims, 82, American race driver, first female SCCA champion, stroke.

October 5th
Brian Powell, 35, American baseball player, self-inflicted gunshot wound.
René Sommer, 58, Swiss co-inventor of the computer mouse.

October 4th
Grace Keagy, 87, American actress, ovarian cancer.

October 2nd
Peg Mullen, 92, American author, subject of film Friendly Fire.

A Face In The Crowd - Original Trailer 1957

Today's Quote

Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.

- Oprah Winfrey

Today's Quote

True learning is not about facts, but about conscious appreciation of the experience of living.

- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

My son, Phillip and his son, Xavier

The Cost of the War

We Hardly Knew Ye - Those We Lost in September 2009

September 30
John Couey, 51, American murderer, killer of Jessica Lunsford (the inspiration for Jessica's Law), anal cancer.

September 27th
Donald Fisher, 81, American businessman, founder of The Gap, cancer.
William Safire, 79, American speechwriter and journalist (The New York Times), pancreatic cancer.

September 26th
Amy Farris, 40, American fiddler, singer and songwriter.
Rudy LaGatta, 79, American musician (Five Fun Ghouls).
Alfred Oglesby, 42, American football player (Miami Dolphins).

September 24th
Susan Atkins, 61, American murderer ('Manson Family' member), brain cancer. Forrest Church, 61, American Unitarian Universalist minister, author and theologian, esophageal cancer.
Cryptoclearance, 25, American Thoroughbred racehorse, complications from colic surgery.
Mimi Weddell, 94, American actress (Student Bodies, The Thomas Crown Affair), after short illness.

September 22nd
Summer Squall, 22, American thoroughbred stallion racehorse, 1990 Preakness Stakes winner, euthanized. Lucy Vodden, 46, British inspiration for The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", lupus.

September 20th
John Hart, 91, American actor (The Lone Ranger).

September 19th
Arthur Ferrante, 88, American pianist (Ferrante & Teicher), natural causes. [111]

September 18th
John J. Wild, 95, American physician, co-developer of ultrasound use in cancer detection.

September 17th
Bob Kowalkowski, 65, American football player and coach (Detroit Lions).
Robert Searcy, 88, American member of the Tuskegee Airmen, colorectal cancer.

September 16th
Melvin Simon, 82, American shopping mall developer (Simon Property Group), producer (Porky's), Indiana Pacers owner.
Mary Travers, 72, American singer (Peter, Paul and Mary), leukemia.

September 15th
George Crumbley, 86, American founder of the Peach Bowl.
Michael Knox, 48, American co-founder of Park Place Productions, producer of John Madden Football, colon cancer.

September 14th
Henry Gibson, 73, American actor (Laugh-In, Boston Legal), cancer.
Patrick Swayze, 57, American actor (Dirty Dancing, Ghost), pancreatic cancer.

September 13th
Paul Burke, 83, American actor (Naked City), leukemia.
Lonny Frey, 99, American baseball player, oldest living MLB All-Star.
Arnold Laven, 87, American film and television director (The Rifleman, The Big Valley), pneumonia.
Sarah E. Wright, 80, American novelist, complications of cancer.

September 12th
Thabet bin Laden, 49, Saudi businessman and patriarch, brother of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
George Eckstein, 81, American television writer and producer (The Fugitive), lung cancer.
Bill Sparkman, 51, American substitute teacher and census worker, hanged. [207]

September 11th
Gertrude Baines, 115, American supercentenarian, world's oldest person, suspected heart attack.
Jim Carroll, 60, American author (The Basketball Diaries), poet and musician, heart attack.
Larry Gelbart, 81, American comedy writer (M*A*S*H) and blogger (The Huffington Post), cancer.
Bob Greenberg, 75, American record executive, stroke.
Crystal Lee Jordan, 68, American union organizer, inspiration for Norma Rae, brain cancer.

September 10th
Frank Batten, 82, American businessman, founder of The Weather Channel, after long illness.
Lou Bender, 99, American basketball pioneer who popularized the sport in New York City, cancer.
Gertrude Noone, 110, American supercentenarian, world's oldest military veteran. Tony Thornton, 49, American professional boxer, injuries from a motorcycle accident.

September 9th
Sultan Munadi, 32, Afghan journalist, translator and correspondent (The New York Times), shot.

September 8th
Army Archerd, 90, American entertainment columnist (Variety), mesothelioma.
Annie Le, 24, American graduate student, homicide. [252]
Kyle Woodring, 42, American drummer (Survivor), apparent suicide by hanging.

September 7th
Frank Coghlan, Jr., 93, American silent movie actor.

September 5th
Mickie Jones, American bassist (Angel), liver cancer.
Jesse Mahelona, 26, American football player (Tennessee Titans), car accident.

September 4th
Skip Miller, 62, American music industry executive, president of Motown Records, heart attack.

September 3rd
Caro Jones, 86, American casting director (Rocky, The Karate Kid, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres), multiple myeloma.
Alec MacLachlan, 30, British hostage in Iraq (death confirmed on this date).

September 2nd
Guy Babylon, 52, American musician (Elton John band), heart attack.

September 1st
Dick Berg, 87, American screenwriter and television producer, fall.
Wycliffe Johnson, 47, Jamaican Reggae musician and composer, heart failure.
Erich Kunzel, 74, American conductor (Cincinnati Pops Orchestra), cancer. [318]
John Stephens, 43, American football player (New England Patriots), NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1988), car accident.

Top 10 Ethics Scandals of 2009

Madoff, Sanford and Murtha are just a few who made it onto the top 10 list of the nation's most ethically challenged players of the year.

What made the Golden Age of TV glow?

There's no way to list every show or development that had an impact on TV during the last decade. But certain technologies and programs had an unmistakable influence on the Golden Age of television.

Please keep in mind that what follows isn't a comprehensive list of the best shows of the past decade. These are thoughts on a few of the developments, trends and programs that affected what we saw on our screens during the last 10 years.

Today's Quote

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.

- Elbert Hubbard

The Wayback Juke Box - Frank Zappa - Don't Eat That Yellow Snow

Fast-food restaurants finally feel slowdown, despite popularity of dollar menus

In 2009, economic ugliness caught up with fast food. Customer traffic steadily declined through the year, and by the fourth quarter even McDonald's, which had held up best against the deluge, was experiencing a sales decline in U.S. outlets open at least 13 months. This year, the Golden Arches' stock has been a clear laggard, ranking near the bottom of Dow components.

A big rise in unemployment and underemployment this year has taken a toll: As more people have lost their jobs, or had their hours or pay cut, there's been a significant drop in breakfast and lunchtime visits to fast-food chains. And dinner is down, too, as families cut back on discretionary spending.

Read more

Foreclosures Top 1 Million

The number of homes in foreclosure topped one million for the first quarter ever, as delinquencies rose even among prime borrowers and nearly half of all holders of modified mortgages, whose monthly payments had been lowered, defaulted again. The depressing figures, released on Monday by the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, restate the difficulty facing the real-estate market going forward, as continuously high unemployment makes regular mortgage payment difficult for millions of homeowners. Of all mortgages serviced by national banks and thrifts, 87.2 percent were current, while 6.2 percent were seriously delinquent.

Read more

What Investors Need to Understand to Avoid Fraud

As most investors know, risk is an inherent part of investing; it is what makes the reward of positive returns possible. Too often, investors focused on big returns are persuaded to enter into what turn out to be fraudulent schemes promising the moon and the stars for little or no risk. Here are some resources to help educate you:

Tricks of the Trade: Outsmarting Investment Fraud – FINRA Investor Education.

Investment Fraud Awareness Quiz – North American Securities
Administrators Association.

Consumer Fraud/Investor Protection Resources – Employee Benefit Research Institute/Choose to Save.

Click here to see a list of all 12 resources for understanding and avoiding fraud, by the nonprofit Alliance for Investor Education (AIE).

For more information on investing and fraud prevention, visit the Investment Planning section of the 360 Financial Literacy website.

Visit www.FeedthePig.org for more money-saving ti

Post-Holiday Savings

Consumers should see a healthy selection of goods during post-holiday sales. Knowing where to look and how to make the most of these sales is crucial for avoiding long lines and getting the most bang for your buck.

• Shortly after the holidays, retailers will fill the newspapers, touting their sales. Take advantage of these sales by looking over the circulars in your area. Keep your eyes open for good deals on everyday items and even gifts for next year.

• If you are buying discounted sale merchandise, be sure you are fully aware of the return policy. Being able to return items for a full cash refund is a benefit that should not be overlooked.

• Being familiar with the warranty on the items that you purchase can save you time, money, and frustration, especially when it comes to appliances, computers, or other electronics. If you're unfamiliar with the store, read reviews to see if you can gauge customer satisfaction.

• Lastly, if you're not willing to brave the post-holiday shopping traffic or crowds, consider waiting until after the New Year when sales and money-saving opportunities will be just as plentiful.

Visit www.FeedthePig.org for more money-saving tips!

In Memoriam

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was
time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road
because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and
dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the
road.

SARAH PALIN: You betcha he crossed the road, but let's
not talk about that, let's talk about energy policy, and
how gosh darn hard it is for a middle-class hockey mom to
manage the budget of the only state in America with a
massive surplus, especially while surrounded by countless
Russian and Canadian chickens we have to keep an eye on.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped
that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes
me uniquely qualified to ensure - right from Day One! - that
every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to
cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken
crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on
our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against
us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can
clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the
road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that
chicken...What is your definition of crossing?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the
road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross,
and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am
not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some
black chickens.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having
problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad.
So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and
take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give
this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road
and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a
chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to
the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's
guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking
American.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it
with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it
crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain... alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you
people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the
'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay.
And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say
we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination
that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless
phrases like 'the other side.' That chicken should
not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as
that.

GRANDPA: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken
crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the
road, and that was good enough.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing
roads together, in peace.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or
did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

The Nagging Wife

Farmer Jake had a nagging wife who made his life miserable. The only real peace that he got was when he was out in the field plowing.

One day when he was out in the field, Jake's wife brought his lunch to him. Then she stayed while he quietly ate and berated him with a constant stream of nagging and complaining. Suddenly, Jake's old mule kicked up his back legs, striking the wife in the head, and killing her instantly.

At the wake, Jake's minister noticed that when the women offered their sympathy to Jake he would nod his head up and down. But when the men came up and spoke quietly to him, he would shake his head from side to side.

When the wake was over and all the mourners had left, the minister approached Jake and asked, "Why was it that you nodded your head up and down to all the women and shook your head from side to side to all the men?"

Well, Jake replied, "The women all said how nice she looked, and her dress was so pretty, so I agreed by nodding my head up and down. The men all asked, 'Is that mule for sale!?'"

Cherry-Almond Jumbles

Makes 40
Total Time: 1hr 50m

1. Do not refrigerate the basic sugar cookie dough after making it (do not substitute slice-and-bake dough in this recipe).

2. Stir in 1 cup chopped dried cherries and 1 cup sliced almonds. Drop tablespoon-size mounds of dough onto baking sheets.

3. Bake at 350° F on parchment-lined baking sheets until just beginning to brown, 16 to 20 minutes.

4. Cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.



Basic Sugar Cookie Dough

Hands-On Time: 25m
Total Time: 1hr 25m

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for shaping the cookies
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a disk and (unless otherwise specified in an individual recipe) refrigerate, wrapped, for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

4. Make cookies according to directions in the 10 Ideas For Sugar Cookie Dough collection. Alternately, make cutout cookies by doing the following: Heat oven to 350° F. On a floured surface, roll out each disk ¼ inch thick. Cut into shapes and place on parchment-lined baking sheets; refrigerate until firm. Sprinkle with decorating sugar, if using, and bake until just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

5. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Jambalaya

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 10m
Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 16-ounce package kielbasa, cut into 4-inch rounds
* 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained
* 1 8-ounce box jambalaya, Spanish, or fiesta-flavored rice mix
* 1 1-pound package peeled and deveined raw shrimp
* 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the kielbasa. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes along with 1/2 cup of water and their liquid and crush with the back of a spoon. Bring to a boil. Add the rice mix. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for the time specified on the package.

3. Add the shrimp, stir, cover, and cook until pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the hot pepper sauce (if using). Spoon onto plates.

We Hardly Knew Ye - These We Lost in August 2009

August 31st
Eddie Higgins, 77, American jazz pianist, cancer.
Jack Manning, 93, American film, stage and television actor.

August 30th
Marie Knight, 84, American gospel singer, pneumonia.
Nancy Talbot, 89, American businesswoman, co-founder of Talbots retail stores, Alzheimer's disease.

August 29th
Gennaro Angiulo, 90, American Mafia underboss, renal failure.
Chanel, 21, American dachshund, world's oldest dog, natural causes.
Chris Connor, 81, American jazz singer, cancer.

August 28th
Richard Egan, 73, American businessman and diplomat, suicide by gunshot.
Adam Goldstein, 36, American club disc jockey and musician (Crazy Town), suspected drug overdose.
Wayne Tippit, 76, American character actor (Melrose Place), after long illness.

August 27th
Alex Grass, 82, American businessman, founder of Rite Aid drugstores, lung cancer.

August 26th
Sadie Corre, 91, British actress (The Rocky Horror Picture Show).
Dominick Dunne, 83, American writer and investigative journalist, bladder cancer. Ellie Greenwich, 68, American songwriter ("Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love"), heart attack.

August 25th
Ted Kennedy, 77, American politician, Senator from Massachusetts (1962–2009), brain cancer.

August 24th
Joseph Corbett, Jr., 80, American murderer and kidnapper, suicide by gunshot.

August 23rd
Stanley Kaplan, 90, American businessman and scholastic test preparation pioneer, founder of Kaplan, Inc., heart disease.

August 21st
Ernest Brown, 93, American tap dancer.
Johnny Carter, 75, American singer (The Flamingos, The Dells), lung cancer.

August 20th
Larry Knechtel, 69, American keyboardist (Bread)

August 19th
Don Hewitt, 86, American television producer, creator of 60 Minutes, pancreatic cancer.

August 18th
Robert Novak, 78, American conservative author and pundit, brain cancer.

August 16th
Ed Reimers, 96, American character actor (Star Trek, The Barefoot Executive). [141]
Burl Toler, 81, American football official, first African American official in the NFL.

August 15th
Kenneth Bacon, 64, American president of Refugees International, Asst Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, melanoma.
Virginia Davis, 90, American child actress.
Jasmine Fiore, 28, American Playboy model, strangled.
Sammy Petrillo, 74, American comedian, cancer.
Louis Rosen, 91, American nuclear physicist (Manhattan Project), inventor of the atom smasher, subdural hematoma.

August 14th
Lawrence Lucie, 101, American jazz guitarist.
Philip Saltzman, 80, Mexican-born American television writer and producer (Columbo, Barnaby Jones), natural causes.

August 13th
Les Paul, 94, American guitarist and inventor, complications from pneumonia.

August 12th
Ruth Ford, 98, American model and actress.

August 11th
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, American activist, founder of the Special Olympics, sister of John F. Kennedy.
Kitty White, 86, American jazz vocalist, stroke.

August 10th
Andy Kessler, 48, American skateboarder, cardiac arrest following wasp sting.
Merlyn Mantle, 77, American author, widow of Mickey Mantle, Alzheimer's disease.Representatives (since 1994), lung cancer.

August 9th
John Quade, 71, American character actor (Every Which Way But Loose, The Outlaw Josey Wales), natural causes.

August 7th
Jimmy Bedford, 69, American distiller (Jack Daniel's), heart attack.
Gibson, 7, American Great Dane, recognized by Guinness Book of World Records as world's tallest dog, bone cancer.
Mike Seeger, 75, American folk musician, folklorist and banjo player, cancer.

August 6th
John Hughes, 59, American film director, screenwriter, and producer (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club), heart attack.
Sam, 4, Australian koala made famous after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, euthanised.

August 5th
Budd Schulberg, 95, American screenwriter (On the Waterfront), television producer and novelist, natural causes.

August 1st
Naomi Sims, 61, American model and author, breast cancer.
Howard Smit, 98, American film make-up artist (The Wizard of Oz).

Website of the Day - Working Dogs for Conservation

Working Dogs for Conservation (WDC) is an organization committed to developing and furthering the training and use of canine-human teams for non-invasive scientific inquiry, conservation, and management. We provide and promote fielding experienced dog/handler teams, training dogs and/or handlers, and program development and support.

Did Muslim terrorists stage a "dry run" on AirTran flight 297?

The airline and an eyewitness say this e-mailed claim is "an urban legend" spread by persons who "live in a fantasy world.

Read more

8 Myths about Credit Scores

By now, you're probably aware of the wide use of credit scores, and how this three-digit number can determine whether you get credit and under what terms. But there is a lot of misinformation about scores, too, and what you don't know can hurt you.

You could end up unnecessarily paying interest on credit cards or lowering your score in attempts to improve it.

Here are some of the myths:

Has Swine Flu Peaked?

After months of scary headlines and millions of flu shots, could swine flu finally be on the downswing? According to a new study of some 170,000 flu tests by researchers at Quest Diagnostics, the illness peaked in April and reached a second peak in October before beginning to decline. "Between this peak week and December 9, testing rates fell by 75 percent. In the most recent week reported, December 9, testing rates were equivalent to volumes experienced in late August, when the second wave began," the company said. The largest declines were among patients in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and Virginia and West Virginia, a region that saw an 87 percent decline in testing rates in the same period. Researchers attribute the drop to a combination of vaccinations and patients gaining resistance through prior infection.

Read more

3-D TV moves closer to reality

The Blu-ray Disc Assn. reaches agreement on a standard that allows for full 1080p viewing of 3-D movies on TVs.

Here's The Joke

As the woman was instructing the new maid on the great care
required in handling certain valuable household objects. She
pointed to the dining room and said with great satisfaction,
"That table goes back to Louis the Fourteenth."

"Oh, that's nothing," the maid interjected. "My whole living-
room set goes back to Sears the fifteenth."

The Muppets: Ringing of the Bells

Imagine Your Path

Imagine your spiritual path. What does it look like? Start the week by walking on the path that you've envisioned for yourself. Hear the podcast.

Maine Secret Santa Hands Out $10,000 at Goodwill Shop

Jim Ward of Portland went to the Goodwill store on Forest Avenue Tuesday evening to shop for a pair of pants.

Instead of leaving the store with pants, he left with a crisp $100 bill.

Ward was one of 100 people who were handed envelopes with $100 inside. In a matter of a few minutes, Portland's "secret Santa" gave away $10,000 to complete strangers.

"When I opened the envelope I said, 'Holy cow.' He obviously has a great heart," Ward said. "I wish I could afford to do the same thing. Giving back is important to me."

Ward plans to use the money to take his 16-year-old son, who lives in New Hampshire with his mother, out to dinner when he visits for the holidays.

"He's my present," Ward said of his son.

Tuesday's cash giveaway was inspired by Kansas City's secret Santa, Larry Stewart.

Read more

Today's Quote

"People of character do the right thing, not because they think it will change the world but because they refuse to be changed by the world."

Michael Josephson
Radio Commentator

Website of the Day - Weffriddles

Get addicted!

The Beauty of Discipline

Burden, bitterness, pleasure and ease--find out how they're all connected. Sometimes the most bitter circumstances teach you things that enable you to know pleasure and joy. Time has a magical way of opening the heart to understanding things we didn't understand during the bitter days. Hear the podcast.

We Hardly Knew Ye - Those We Lost in July 2009

July 31st
Ted Nierenberg, 86, American entrepreneur, founder of Dansk International Designs, pancreatic cancer.

July 29th
Joanne Jordan, 88, American actress and spokesmodel, Parkinson's disease.
Ernest W. Lefever, 90, American foreign policy expert, founder of Ethics and Public Policy Center, dementia with Lewy bodies.

July 28th
Reverend Ike, 74, American evangelist, stroke.
Jim Johnson, 68, American football coach (Philadelphia Eagles), melanoma.
Bernard Rosenthal, 94, American sculptor, stroke.

July 27th
Bernadette Cozart, 62, American gardener, urban gardening advocate, heart attack.
George Russell, 86, American jazz composer, complications from Alzheimer's disease.

July 26th
Clayton Hill, 78, American actor (Dawn of the Dead, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth), complications from pneumonia.
Lois Hunt, 84, American lyric soprano, complications from cardiac surgery.
Marcey Jacobson, 97, American photographer of indigenous peoples in Mexico, heart failure.

July 25th
Rick Bryan, 47, American football player (Atlanta Falcons), heart attack.
Gladys Bustamante, 97, Jamaican trade unionist and activist, wife of Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante.
Vernon Forrest, 38, American boxer, shot.
Gerald Gardner, 83, Irish-born American mathematician, evidence led to ban on sex-segregated classified advertising. leukemia.

July 23rd
Virginia Carroll, 95, American actress and model, natural causes.
E. Lynn Harris, 54, American author.
Danny McBride, 63, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Sha Na Na), natural causes.
Thomas N. Schroth, 88, American editor (Congressional Quarterly), founder of The National Journal, heart failure.

July 22nd
Howard Engle, 89, American pediatrician, lead plaintiff in landmark tobacco lawsuit, lymphoma.
Marco Antonio Nazareth, 23, Mexican boxer, cerebral hemorrhage.
Damien Steele, 33, American professional wrestler, brain aneurysm.

July 21st
John Dawson, 64, American musician (New Riders of the Purple Sage), stomach cancer.
Gidget, 15, American chihuahua, Taco Bell mascot, stroke.
Les Lye, 84, Canadian actor and broadcaster (You Can't Do That on Television).

July 19th
Frank McCourt, 78, Irish-American author (Angela's Ashes), melanoma.

July 18th
Jill Balcon, 84, British actress, widow of Cecil Day-Lewis and mother of Daniel Day-Lewis, brain tumour.
Joel Weisman, 66, American physician and pioneer in AIDS detection, heart disease.

July 17th
Walter Cronkite, 92, American television news anchor, cerebrovascular disease. Gordon Waller, 64, British singer (Peter and Gordon), cardiac arrest.

July 14th
Sam Church, 72, American labor leader (UMWA), complications of surgery. Phyllis Gotlieb, 83, Canadian science fiction author.
Dallas McKennon, 89, American voice actor (Gumby, Buzz Buzzard, Archie Andrews), natural causes.

July 13th
Beverly Roberts, 96, American actress, natural causes.
Dash Snow, 27, American artist, heroin overdose.

July 12th
Jane Weinberger, 91, American author, widow of Caspar Weinberger, stroke.

July 11th
Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara, 69, Spanish woman believed to be world's oldest mother, cancer.
Paul Hemphill, 73, American author, throat cancer.


July 9th
Jessie Hollins, 39, American baseball player, drowned.

July 8th
Judi Ann Mason, 54, American screenwriter, television producer (Good Times) and playwright, aortic dissection.
Waldo McBurney, 106, American beekeeper, oldest worker in the United States.



July 6th
Patrick Tracy Burris, 41, American criminal, suspected South Carolina spree killer, shot.
Oscar G. Mayer, Jr., 95, American business executive (Oscar Mayer).
Robert McNamara, 93, American business executive, Secretary of Defense (1961–1968), natural causes.
Robert L. Short, 76, American theologian (The Gospel According to Peanuts).

July 4th
Jim Chapin, 89, American jazz drummer.
Brenda Joyce, 92, American actress (Tarzan and the Amazons).
Allen Klein, 77, American businessman, Beatles and Rolling Stones manager, Alzheimer's disease.
Drake Levin, 62, American guitarist (Paul Revere & the Raiders), cancer.
Steve McNair, 36, American football player (Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens), shot.

July 3rd
John Barry, 84, American president and CEO of WD-40, pulmonary fibrosis.
E. J. Josey, 85, American librarian and civil rights activist, natural causes.
John Keel, 79, American ufologist and writer (The Mothman Prophecies), heart failure. Barbara Margolis, 79, American prisoners' rights advocate, official greeter for New York City, cancer.

July 2nd
Herbert G. Klein, 91, American journalist, White House Communications Director for President Richard Nixon.

July 1st
Karl Malden, 97, American Academy Award winning actor (A Streetcar Named Desire), natural causes.
Anna Karen Morrow, 94, American actress (Peyton Place), natural causes.
Andree Layton Roaf, 68, American jurist, first black woman on Arkansas Supreme Court.
Mollie Sugden, 86, British actress (Are You Being Served?), natural causes.

Today's Quote

"Make a gift of your life and lift all mankind by being kind,
considerate, forgiving, and compassionate at all times, in all
places, and under all conditions, with everyone as well
as yourself. This is the greatest gift anyone can give."

— David Hawkins: Psychiatrist, spiritual author, and lecture

The Wayback Juke Box - James Brown Santa Claus Go Straight To the Ghetto

David Goldman and Son Arrive Home

After a five-year legal battle to reclaim his son, David Goldman and nine-year-old Sean Goldman finally returned to America together Thursday—and they did so in style, on a private jet chartered by the NBC television network. "It is now time for our new beginning, the rebirth of our family at such a special time of the year," Goldman said in a written statement. "I hope the momentum keeps growing and the attention does not fade because there are more fathers and mothers and children to reunite." Goldman's late ex-wife, Bruna Bianchi, took their son to Brazil in 2004 on a purported vacation only to phone Goldman asking for a divorce. Her family claimed the boy after she died, and her new husband, a leading attorney, sought to prevent Sean's father from reclaiming him. A judge in Brazil ruled on Tuesday that the boy belonged with his biological father.

Read more

The Universe is Self Organizing

Every moment contains every lesson you need to learn. Be who you truly are and see the lessons. Your day will be perfect if you live it correctly. How to become a part of the universe and live in the energy now. Hear the podcast

The dog without lips

Website of the Day - Sketcy Santa's

A collection of photographs showing Santa looking slightly less than jolly. There are young children looking appropriately scared; babies crying; and grown-ups with no business being on a strange man’s lap. All of these photos capture some exquisite holiday awkwardness.

Santa Paws

Winter Zen

The True Story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

A guy named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night. His 4-year-old daughter, Barbara, sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dads eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob. Being small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember.


From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938. Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined a make one - a storybook!


Bob had created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose.


Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there. The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book. In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter.


But the story doesn't end there either. Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas." The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing!

Today's Quote

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Peace on Earth

Happiest States Revealed by New Research

Ever wondered if you'd be happier in sunny Florida or snow-covered Minnesota? New research on state-level happiness could answer that question.

Florida and two other sunshine states made it to the Top 5, while Minnesota doesn't show up until number 26 on the list of happiest states. In addition to rating the smile factor of U.S. states, the research also proved for the first time that a person's self-reported happiness matches up with objective measures of well-being.

Essentially, if an individual says they're happy, they are.

The happiest states:

1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. Mississippi
7. Montana
8. South Carolina
9. Alabama
10. Maine

Read more

A Short Story

Once upon a time......

What is the difference between a "public option" and a single-payer plan?

Single-payer is a complete government-run health insurance system under which everyone is covered, e.g., Canada's system. The "public option" is a single federal insurance plan that would compete with private insurance companies.

Read more

Privacy Groups Report Facebook

Hopefully they'll settle this before your boss sees your profile: Ten privacy and consumer groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Facebook, claiming the site's recent privacy-setting changes are illegal. Last week, the popular online social network began offering its 350 million members more control over their privacy settings, but default settings would essentially allow anyone to see their profiles. According to a statement released by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, nine groups and EPIC itself are asking the FTC to investigate Facebook's privacy-policy modifications, which they say violate federal consumer-protection law, and require the company to restore its original privacy safeguards. EPIC says Facebook "should not be allowed to turn down the privacy dial on so many American consumers." In response to the claim, a Facebook spokesperson said the company discussed the new program with the FTC before it launched, adding "We're disappointed that EPIC has chosen to share their concerns with the FTC while refusing to talk to us about them."

Read more

From "Yes we can" to "No we won't"

Many people who were Barack Obama's most enthusiastic supporters a year ago have grown disillusioned and angry. Alan Maass looks at the differences between President Obama and Candidate Obama--and where the hope for real change lies.

The best and worst movies of 2009

Which films from 2009 are the ones to remember and the ones to forget? Here are Tribune critic Michael Phillips' 20 best and 10 worst movies of the year, starting with his favorite 10 in reverse order.

Standing rib roast

How to make a mouth-watering rib roast outdoors.

10 Books to Watch For in January 2010

See the list

It's done: Senate approves health care overhaul, 60-39

I don't like much of this bill but support it's passage because I think it was important not to let the Republican's win their campaign of misinformation.

The Senate Thursday voted 60 to 39 to overhaul the nation's health care system — President Barack Obama's top 2009 domestic priority — moving the nation closer to near-universal health care coverage early in the next decade.

Read more

Wild dogs turn green

A pack of wild dogs in Russia have turned green amid concerns they have been exposed to toxic waste.

Read more/video

Moving Mountains

Believe it or not, your faith can move mountains. Through God's power within you, anything is possible. You think you are your body, but in actuality, you are a mountain-moving machine! Hear the podcast.

Here's The Joke

It is Christmas eve. A burglar breaks into the home of a
prominent local lawyer. He takes the lawyer's Christmas
gifts from under the tree leaving the packages for the
wife and children alone. As he is leaving the house, he is
apprehended by a policeman.

He confesses to what he has done but tells the policeman
that he can't be arrested.

The policeman asks why, and he responds, "Because the law
states that I'm entitled to the presents of an attorney."

How White Is Facebook?

Users of Facebook, the popular online social network, are increasingly black and Latino, according to a study released Wednesday. Facebook researchers have found that 11 percent of the approximately 100 American users are African American, 9 percent are Latino, and 6 percent are Asian. "What we've seen over time is that as Facebook has grown in the U.S. population, we've come to represent a cross-section" of Americans who use the Internet, said a Facebook data scientist. Researchers hope that Facebook will provide a wealth of sociological data in the future.

Tiger to Spend Christmas Alone

Boofrigginhoo

Don't expect the Woods-Nordegren family Christmas to be as exciting as their Thanksgiving: According to People magazine, Elin is taking the kids to Sweden for the holidays, and possibly longer. Originally, the former model had planned on leaving in January, but apparently she will return to her home country sooner. Though no official announcements have been made, rumors are circulating that Nordegren will leave Woods, and she was photographed without her wedding ring recently.

Letting Your Children Go

While it's difficult to let your children go as they grow up, it's one of the inevitable facts of being a parent. Children have to find God, truth and their own individual strength. How to deal with it. Hear the podcast.

A Science Lesson from Golden Retrievers

In this great clip, a group of well-trained Golden Retrievers illustrate what an atom is.

Happy Holidays

Bobby

A kindergarten teacher handed out a coloring page to her class. On it was a picture of a duck holding an umbrella. The teacher told her class to color the duck in yellow and the umbrella green, however, Bobby, he class rebel, colored the duck in a bright fire truck red. After seeing this, the teacher asked him: "Bobby, how many times have you seen a red duck?" Young Bobby replied with "The same number of times I've seen a duck holding an umbrella."

Website of the Day

Cap & Trade Explained with Cartoons!

Stuffing Meat Loaf With Marmalade Glaze

Serves 6
Hands-On Time: 10m
Total Time: 1hr 00m

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (preferably chuck)
* 2 cups cooked stuffing, roughly chopped
* 1 large egg, beaten
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1/4 cup orange marmalade
* 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
* 10 ounces baby arugula (about 6 cups)
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the beef, stuffing, egg, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Transfer the mixture to a rimmed baking sheet and form it into a 9-inch loaf (about 2 1/2 inches thick). Bake for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine the marmalade and mustard. Spread on the meat loaf and continue to bake until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

4. Divide the arugula among plates. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar. Serve with the meat loaf.

Sugar Cookies

Makes 4-6 dozen cookies, depending on shapes Hands-On Time: 1hr 15m
Total Time: 3hr 30m

Ingredients

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/3 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
* 2 large eggs, at room temperature
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* colored or coarse sugar, for decorating

Directions

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

2. Combine the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream until smooth. Slowly add the sugar, beating on medium. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. With a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture 1 cup at a time.

3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide in half. Place each half on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten into disks about 1 inch thick. Wrap separately then refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.

4. To bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Roll to 1/8 inch thick on a well-floured surface. Cut into shapes. Sprinkle with the colored sugar, if desired. Using a spatula, transfer to a large greased baking sheet, sugared-side up. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack.

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