Today's Quote

“Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend.” 

-Lao Tzu

Sometimes all you need to smile is a reminder that it doesn’t require that much.

Brain-Eating Amoeba Cases Puzzle and Worry Scientists

Two people have died after flushing their sinuses using neti pots that may have contained amoeba-contaminated water, causing scientists to look anew at a once rare disease that may be on the rise.

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10 Life-Changing Gifts You Can Give Yourself

New scientific research offers surprising ways to shower yourself with tranquility, creativity, longevity and more.

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22 things you never knew about New Year's (and how they can change your life in 2012)

1 million: The number of revelers who come to Times Square to ring in the New Year.

40: The years that Dick Clark has led TV viewers across the world into the next year.

127 decibels: The sound of a vuvuzela (fireworks top out at 150 decibels—you can expect both in Times Square).

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Deaths in November 2011

November 30th
* J. Blackfoot, 65, American soul singer, cancer.


November 29th
* Patrice O'Neal, 41, American actor and comedian (Web Junk 20, The Opie and Anthony Show), complications from stroke.


November 27th* Judd Woldin, 86, American Tony Award-winning composer (Raisin), cancer.

November 25th* Don DeVito, 72, American record company executive and producer.
* Judy Lewis, 76, American actress (General Hospital, The Secret Storm), daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young, cancer.
* Frederik Meijer, 91, American businessman, Chairman of Meijer (1964–1990), stroke.
* Coco Robicheaux, 64, American blues musician and artist.
* Lee "Shot" Williams, 73, American blues singer.

November 24th
* Ross MacManus, 84, English musician, father of Elvis Costello.
* Jeno Paulucci, 93, American businessman (Michelina's), pioneer of ready-made ethnic foods.


November 23th* Oscar Griffin, Jr., 78, American journalist, winner of the 1963 Pulitzer Prize.
* Christopher Ma, 61, American journalist, senior vice-president of The Washington Post, heart attack.


November 22th* Stan Case, 59, American radio anchor (CNN Radio), road accident.
* Danielle Mitterrand, 87, French activist, widow of François Mitterrand, First Lady of the French Republic (1981–1995).

November 21st* George Gallup, Jr., 81, American pollster, liver cancer.
* Anne McCaffrey, 85, American science fiction writer (Dragonriders of Pern series), stroke.

November 20th* Theodore J. Forstmann, 71, American financier (IMG, Topps, Gulfstream) and philanthropist, brain cancer.

November 19th* John Neville, 86, British-born Canadian actor (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The X-Files), Alzheimer's disease.

November 17th* Kurt Budke, 50, American women's basketball coach (Oklahoma State University), plane crash.
* Gary Garcia, 63, American musician (Buckner & Garcia).


November 15th* Oba Chandler, 65, American murderer, lethal injection.
* Dulcie Gray, 95, English actress (Howards' Way) and novelist, bronchial pneumonia.
* Moogy Klingman, 61, American rock keyboardist (Utopia) and songwriter, cancer.
* Karl Slover, 93, Slovak-born American actor (The Wizard of Oz).

November 14th* Lee Pockriss, 87, American songwriter ("Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini").

November 13th* Jamie Pierre, 38, American professional skier, avalanche.

November 12th* Evelyn Lauder, 75, Austrian-born American philanthropist (The Breast Cancer Research Foundation), creator of pink ribbon symbol, complications from ovarian cancer.
* Ilya Zhitomirskiy, 22, Russian-born American Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Diaspora social network site, apparent suicide.


November 8th* Al Boeke, 88, American architect, developer of Sea Ranch, California, and Mililani, Hawai'i.
* Hal Bruno, 83, American journalist, political director of ABC News (1980–1999), heart arrhythmia after a fall.
* Gene Cantamessa, 80, American Academy Award-winning sound engineer (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial).
* Heavy D, 44, Jamaican-born American rapper ("Now That We Found Love") and actor (The Cider House Rules, Life), pulmonary embolism.
* Bil Keane, 89, American cartoonist (The Family Circus), heart failure.
* Jimmy Norman, 74, American rhythm and blues and jazz musician and songwriter.

November 7th* Joe Frazier, 67, American boxer, World Heavyweight Champion (1970–1973), liver cancer.
* Andrea True, 68, American adult film star and disco singer, heart failure.


November 6th* Margaret Field, 89, American actress (The Man from Planet X, Captive Women), mother of Sally Field, cancer.
* Hal Kanter, 92, American screenwriter, director and producer (Julia), complications from pneumonia.
* Charles Walton, 89, American electrical engineer, patentee of RFID. [302]

November 4th* Cynthia Myers, 61, American model (Playboy) and actress (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls).
* Andy Rooney, 92, American journalist, 60 Minutes correspondent (1978–2011), surgical complications.

November 3rd* John R. Opel, 86, American computer businessman, president and CEO of IBM.

November 2nd* Lou Maletta, 74, American media executive, founder of Gay Cable Network, liver cancer.
* Sid Melton, 94, American character actor (The Golden Girls, Green Acres, The Danny Thomas Show), pneumonia.
* Leonard Stone, 87, American actor (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory), cancer.

November 1st* Dorothy Howell Rodham, 92, American homemaker, mother of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Rich people less empathetic than the poor

The depiction of the rich and cold-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol” is backed up with scientific evidence, according to researchers at the University of California at Berkeley.

The researchers found that people in lower socio-economic classes are more physiologically attuned to the suffering of others than their middle- and upper-class counterparts.

“It’s not that the upper-classes are coldhearted,” UC Berkeley social psychologist Jennifer Stellar, lead author of the study published the journal Emotion, explained. “They may just not be as adept at recognizing the cues and signals of suffering because they haven’t had to deal with as many obstacles in their lives.”

The study was based on three experiments conducted on more than 300 ethnically diverse young adults.

Participants from lower-classes reported feeling greater levels of compassion than their more affluent counterparts. But they reported feeling the same amount of joy, contentment, pride, love, amusement and awe.

Read more

Today's Quote

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

– Michelangelo

Deaths in October 2011

October 31st
* Liz Anderson, 81, American country music singer-songwriter, mother of Lynn Anderson, complications from heart and lung disease.
* Mick Anglo, 95, British comic book writer and artist, creator of Marvelman.
* Gilbert Cates, 77, American film director and producer (Academy Awards Telecast, Oh, God! Book II), founder of Geffen Playhouse.

October 30th* Tom Keith, 64, American radio personality (A Prairie Home Companion).
* Phyllis Love, 85, American actress (Friendly Persuasion, The Young Doctors), Alzheimer's disease.
* David Utz, 87, American surgeon, removed Ronald Reagan's prostate, heart failure.

October 28th
* Ed Walker, 94, American World War II veteran and writer, last surviving member of Castner's Cutthroats.

October 27th* T. Max Graham, 70, American actor (Article 99, Eraserhead), cancer.
* Robert Pritzker, 85, American billionaire industrialist, Parkinson's disease.

October 26th
* Daniel Burke, 82, American television executive, President of ABC (1986–1994), complications of diabetes.

October 25th
* Wyatt Knight, 56, American actor (Porky's), suicide by gunshot.

October 24th
* Bob Beaumont, 79, American electric automobile manufacturer (Citicar), emphysema.

October 23rd
* Nusrat Bhutto, 82, Iranian-born Pakistani First Lady, widow of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and mother of Benazir Bhutto.

October 22nd* Robert Pierpoint, 86, American broadcast journalist, complications from surgery.
* Sultan, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, 83, Saudi royal, Minister of Defense and Aviation (since 1962) and Crown Prince (since 2005).

October 21st
* Thomas Dillon, 61, American serial killer.

October 20th
* Jerzy Bielecki, 90, Polish social worker, survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp, Polish Righteous among the Nations recipient.
* Barry Feinstein, 80, American photographer and photojournalist.
* Moatassem Gaddafi, 34, Libyan Army officer, fifth son of Muammar Gaddafi, shot.
* Muammar Gaddafi, 69, Libyan leader (1969–2011), shot.

October 18th* Bob Brunning, 68, British blues musician (Fleetwood Mac), heart attack.

October 17th
* Carl Lindner, Jr., 92, American businessman (United Dairy Farmers, Cincinnati Reds), cardiac arrest.
* Piri Thomas, 83, American writer (Down These Mean Streets) and poet, pneumonia.
* Edgar Villchur, 94, American inventor of the acoustic suspension loudspeaker.

October 16th
* Virginia Knauer, 96, American consumer advocate and government official.
* Pete Rugolo, 95, Italian-born American film and television composer (Kiss Me Kate, The Fugitive).

October 14th
* Chuck Ruff, 60, American drummer (Edgar Winter, Sammy Hagar), after long illness.

October 13th
* Sheila Allen, 78, British actress (Love Actually).
* Barbara Kent, 103, Canadian-born American silent film actress.
* Tufele Liamatua, 71, American Samoan politician and paramount chief, first elected Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa (1978–1985).

October 12th
* Patricia Breslin, 80, American actress (The People's Choice, Peyton Place, The Twilight Zone), wife of Art Modell, pancreatitis.
* Joel DiGregorio, 67, American keyboardist (The Charlie Daniels Band), car crash.
* Paul Leka, 68, American pianist, arranger and songwriter ("Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", "Green Tambourine").
* Dennis Ritchie, 70, American computer scientist, developer of the C programming language and the Unix operating system. (body discovered on this date)

[October 11th
* George "Mojo" Buford, 81, American blues harmonica player.
* Bob Galvin, 89, American businessman, CEO of Motorola (1959–1986).
* Freddie Gruber, 84, American jazz drummer.

October 10th
* Ray Aghayan, 83, Iranian-born American costume designer (Funny Lady, Doctor Dolittle).
* Alan Fudge, 67, American actor (7th Heaven, Matlock, Hawaii 5-O), lung and liver cancer.

October 9th
* Ray Aranha, 72, American actor (Dead Man Walking, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Married People).
* Chauncey Hardy, 23, American basketball player, heart attack following beating.

October 8th * Al Davis, 82, American football coach and team owner (Oakland Raiders), heart failure.
* David Hess, 75, American actor (The Last House on the Left), singer and songwriter, heart attack.
* Mikey Welsh, 40, American artist and musician (Weezer).
* Roger Williams, 87, American pianist (Autumn Leaves), pancreatic cancer.

October 7th
* Paul Kent, 80, American actor (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Three's Company), multiple myeloma.
* Milan Puskar, 77, American pharmacist, co-founder of Mylan, cancer.
* Mildred Savage, 92, American author (Parrish).

October 6th
* William S. Dietrich II, 73, American industrialist and philanthropist.

October 5th
* Anita Caspary, 95, American Catholic nun, founder of the Immaculate Heart Community.
* Steve Jobs, 56, American computer entrepreneur and inventor, co-founder of Apple Inc., pancreatic cancer.
* Charles Napier, 75, American actor (The Silence of the Lambs, The Blues Brothers).
* Fred Shuttlesworth, 89, American civil rights leader.

October 4th
* Doris Belack, 85, American actress (Law & Order, One Life to Live, Tootsie), natural causes.
* Ruth Currier, 85, American dancer, choreographer and dance teacher.

October 2nd
* Don Lapre, 47, American television pitchman, suicide by cutting throat.

October 1st
* Butch Ballard, 92, American jazz drummer.
* Robert Finigan, 68, American wine critic.

Black Merda - Long Burn the Fire

Homeless kids in U.S. number 1.6 million

Fully 1.6 million children in the United States — one in 45 kids — were homeless last year, living in shelters, cars, abandoned buildings and parks, a study released Monday found.

With youth homelessness surging 28 percent since 2007 amid tough economic times, the National Center on Family Homelessness called its study a “call to action for all of us to address child homelessness before we lose another generation.”

The situation is grim nationally, but even worse in many states.

Half of all US homeless kids live in six US states, and among the worst hit of all were Georgia, Alabama and California, the most populous US state.

Read more

New Photos Released of Iraq Atrocity, With Documents and Video

Every American should read this letter:

December 18, 2007
To: Mr. Randy Waddle, Assistant Inspector General, Ft Carson, Colorado
CC: LTC John Shawkins, Inspector General, Ft Carson, Colorado
Major General Mark Graham, Commanding Officer, Ft Carson, Colorado
Major Haytham Faraj, USMC, Camp Pendleton, California
Lt General Stanley Greene, US Army Inspector General
Subject: Formal Notification of War Atrocities and Crimes Committed by Personnel, B Company, 2-12, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Iraq

Dear Mr. Waddle,

My name is John Needham. I am a member of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, (BCo,2-12INF,2BCT,2ID . I deployed with my unit to Iraq from October 2006 until October 2007 when I was medically evacuated for physical and mental injuries that I suffered during my deployment. The purpose of my letter is to report what I believe to be war crimes and violation of the laws of armed conflict that I personally witnesses while deployed in Iraq.

Upon arriving in Iraq in October of 2006 my unit was assigned to the ¼ Cavalry unit at Camp Prosperity. In March of 2007 I was sent back to my unit, B Company 2-12 at Camp Falcon. It was at Camp Falcon that I observed and was forced to participate in ugly and inhumane acts against the Iraqi citizens in our area of responsibilities. Below I list some of the incidents that took place.

In March of 2007, I witnessed SSG Platt shoot and wound an Iraqi national without cause of provocation. The Staff Sergeant said that he suspected the Iraqi be a “trigger” man. We had not been attacked and we found no evidence on the man to support the suspicion. As the Iraqi lay bleeding on the ground, PVT Smith requested to administer first aid to the Iraqi. SSgt Platt said no and “let him bleed out.” When SSG Platt walked away, Pvt Smith and PVT Mullins went to the Iraqi, dragged him to an alley, and applied first aid. They then drove him to the cache for further treatment.

Read more with photo's and video

Deaths in September 2011

September 30th
* Anwar al-Awlaki, 40, American-born Yemeni cleric and Al-Qaeda official, airstrike.
* Lee Davenport, 95, American physicist, helped develop SCR-584 radar, cancer.
* Peter Gent, 69, American football player (Dallas Cowboys) and author (North Dallas Forty).
* Mike Heimerdinger, 58, American football coach (Tennessee Titans), cancer.
* Clifford Olson, 71, Canadian serial killer, cancer.
* Ralph M. Steinman, 68, Canadian immunologist, announced as 2011 Nobel Laureate in Medicine, pancreatic cancer.
* Marv Tarplin, 70, American guitarist and songwriter (The Miracles).

September 29th
* Sylvia Robinson, 75, American singer (Mickey & Sylvia), music producer and record label executive, heart failure.

September 28th
* Heidi, 3, American-born cross-eyed opossum at Leipzig Zoo, euthanised.

September 27th* David Croft, 89, British television comedy writer and producer (Are You Being Served?, Dad's Army).
* Wilson Greatbatch, 92, American engineer, inventor of the implantable cardiac pacemaker.
* Johnny "Country" Mathis, 77, American singer-songwriter.
* Johnnie Wright, 97, American country music singer (Johnnie & Jack), husband of Kitty Wells.

September 26th
* Bob Cassilly, 61, American sculptor, founder of City Museum, bulldozer accident.
* Jessy Dixon, 73, American gospel musician.
* David Zelag Goodman, 81, American screenwriter (Straw Dogs), progressive supranuclear palsy.
* Uan Rasey, 90, American film trumpeter (Chinatown, Singin' in the Rain), heart ailment.

September 25th
* Helen Reichert, 109, American talk show personality and New York University professor.

September 23rd
* Orlando Brown, 40, American football player (Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens), diabetic ketoacidosis.

September 22nd
* Peter E. Berger, 67, American film editor (Fatal Attraction, Alvin and the Chipmunks), leukemia.
* Vesta Williams, 53, American R&B singer.

September 21st
* Lawrence Russell Brewer, 44, American convicted murderer, executed by lethal injection.
* Troy Davis, 42, American convicted murderer, executed by lethal injection.
* John Du Cann, 66, British musician (Atomic Rooster), heart attack.

September 20th
* Frank Driggs, 81, American Grammy Award-winning jazz producer, musician and archivist, natural causes.
* Arch West, 97, American marketing executive credited with developing Doritos.
* Robert Whitaker, 71, British photographer, shot The Beatles' butcher album cover, cancer.

September 19th
* Thomas Capano, 61, American convicted murderer, heart attack.

September18th
* Norma Holloway Johnson, 79, American federal judge, first African American woman to serve as a district court chief judge, stroke.
* Bayless Manning, 88, American lawyer, Dean of Stanford Law School (1964–1971), first President of the Council on Foreign Relations.
* William F. May, 95, American film society founder (Film Society of Lincoln Center), heart failure.

September17th
* Ernest House Sr., 65, American tribal leader, Chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (1982–2010), injuries from a motorcycle accident.
* Eleanor Mondale, 51, American television personality, daughter of Walter Mondale, brain cancer.

September16th
* John P. Carroll, 12, American bulldog, mascot of Georgetown University.
* Norma Eberhardt, 82, American actress (Live Fast, Die Young, The Return of Dracula), stroke.
* Kara Kennedy, 51, American television producer, daughter of Ted Kennedy, heart attack.
* Jimmy Leeward, 74, American stunt and racing pilot, plane crash.
* Ted Mullighan, 72, Australian jurist, cancer.
* Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, 75, American blues musician.
* Tom Wilson, Sr., 80, American cartoonist (Ziggy).

September15th
* Frances Bay, 92, Canadian character actress (Happy Gilmore, Blue Velvet, The Middle).
* Dorothy Harrell, 87, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League).
* Mo Rothman, 92, Canadian-born American movie executive, persuaded Charlie Chaplin to return to the United States, Parkinson's disease.

September14th
* Jack Garner, 84, American actor (The Rockford Files, My Fellow Americans), brother of James Garner.
* Carl Oglesby, 76, American anti-war activist, lung cancer.
* Steven Michael Woods, Jr., 31, American murderer, executed by lethal injection.

September12th
* Bill Cash, 92, American Negro league baseball player.
* Wade Mainer, 104, American bluegrass musician, heart failure.

September11th
* Arthur Evans, 68, American gay rights activist and author, aortic aneurysm.

September 8th
* Mary Fickett, 83, American actress (All My Children), complications of Alzheimer's disease.

September 7th
* Notable ice hockey players and coaches among the 44 killed in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash:
o Vitali Anikeyenko, 24, Ukrainian
o Mikhail Balandin, 31, Russian
o Gennady Churilov, 24, Russian
o Pavol Demitra, 36, Slovakian
o Robert Dietrich, 25, German
o Marat Kalimulin, 23, Russian
o Alexander Kalyanin, 23, Russian
o Alexander Karpovtsev, 41, Russian coach, world champion (as player, 1993), Stanley Cup champion (as player, 1994, with New York Rangers)
o Andrei Kiryukhin, 24, Russian
o Nikita Klyukin, 21, Russian, world U18 champion (2007)
o Igor Korolev, 41, Russian coach
o Stefan Liv, 30, Swedish, Olympic gold medalist (2006), world champion (2006)
o Jan Marek, 31, Czech
o Brad McCrimmon, 52, Canadian coach, Stanley Cup champion (as player, 1989, with Calgary Flames)
o Sergei Ostapchuk, 21, Belarusian
o Karel Rachůnek, 32, Czech, world champion (2010)
o Ruslan Salei, 36, Belarusian
o Maxim Shuvalov, 18, Russian
o Kārlis Skrastiņš, 37, Latvian
o Pavel Snurnitsyn, 19, Russian
o Daniil Sobchenko, 20, Russian, world junior champion (2011)
o Ivan Tkachenko, 31, Russian
o Pavel Trakhanov, 33, Russian
o Yuri Urychev, 20, Russian, world junior champion (2011)
o Josef Vašíček, 30, Czech, world junior champion (2000), world champion (2005), Stanley Cup champion (2006, with Carolina Hurricanes)
o Alexander Vasyunov, 23, Russian
o Alexander Vyukhin, 38, Ukrainian
o Artem Yarchuk, 21, Russian

September 6th
* Bruce Dan, 64, American researcher (toxic shock syndrome), complicatons of a bone marrow transplant.
* Michael S. Hart, 64, American author, inventor of the e-book and founder of Project Gutenberg, heart attack.
* George Kuchar, 69, American film director, prostate cancer.


September 5th
* Charles S. Dubin, 92, American film and television director (Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, M*A*S*H), natural causes.

September 4th
* Lalla Aicha, 81, Moroccan princess, first female Arab ambassador, Ambassador to United Kingdom (1965–1969); Greece (1969–1970); Italy (1970–1973).
* Victor Bussie, 92, American labor activist, president of Louisiana AFL–CIO, stomach cancer.

Today's Quote

“At the end of life, our questions are very simple: Did I live fully? Did I love well?” 

-Jack Kornfield

Just a little reminder of what really matters. Live boldly, be true yourself, and keep an open heart.

Life’s little difficulties don’t seem nearly as overwhelming when you give yourself permission to just be.

Deaths in August 2011

August 30th
* Faye Blackstone, 96, American rodeo star, cancer.
* Peggy Lloyd, 98, American stage actress.
* Lou Zaeske, 69, American founder of English-only movement, advocate for Czech ethnic causes.

August 29th
* David "Honeyboy" Edwards, 96, American blues guitarist and singer, heart failure.
* Khamis Gaddafi, 28, Libyan seventh son of Muammar Gaddafi, commander of the Khamis Brigade, airstrike.
* Abdullah Senussi, 61/62, Libyan brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi, airstrike.
* Junpei Takiguchi, 80, Japanese voice actor and narrator (Dragon Ball, Yatterman, Mazinger Z), stomach cancer.

August 28th
* George Green, 59, American songwriter ("Hurts So Good", "Crumblin' Down"), lung cancer.

August 27th
* Eve Brent, 82, American actress (The Green Mile). [40]
* Stetson Kennedy, 94, American folklorist and civil rights activist.
* Kim Tai Chung, 68, Korean actor and martial artist, internal stomach bleeding.
* Nico Minardos, 81, Greek actor (Istanbul, Twelve Hours to Kill, The Twilight Zone), natural causes.

August 26th
* Patrick C. Fischer, 75, American computer scientist and Unabomber target.
* Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, 71, American novelist and educator, complications of a stroke.
* B. Jeff Stone, 75, American rockabilly singer-songwriter.

August 24th
* Frank DiLeo, 63, American music industry executive and actor (Goodfellas, Wayne's World), heart complications.
* Esther Gordy Edwards, 91, American Motown executive, creator of Hitsville U.S.A..
* Mike Flanagan, 59, American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays), suicide by gunshot.
* Jack Hayes, 92, American composer and orchestrator (The Color Purple, The Unsinkable Molly Brown), natural causes.

August 23rd
* Sybil Jason, 83, American child actress.
* Frank Potenza, 77, American police officer and actor (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), cancer.

August 22nd
* Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, 40, Libyan-born Afghan Al-Qaeda leader.
* Nickolas Ashford, 70, American R&B singer (Ashford & Simpson) and songwriter ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), throat cancer.
* John Howard Davies, 72, English television producer and director (Fawlty Towers, The Good Life), former child actor (Oliver Twist), cancer.
* Jerry Leiber, 78, American songwriter ("Stand By Me", "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City"), cardiopulmonary failure.
* Samuel Menashe, 85, American poet, natural causes.
* Michael Showers, 45, American actor (Treme, Breaking Bad, The Vampire Diaries), drowned.

August 20th
* Reza Badiyi, 81, Iranian-born American television director (Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man).
* Ross Barbour, 82, American singer, last founding member of The Four Freshmen, lung cancer.
* Fred Fay, 66, American leader in the disability rights movement.

August 19th
* Gun Hägglund, 79, Swedish television personality, world's first female television news presenter, after short illness.

August 18th
* Jerome J. Shestack, 88, American human rights activist and attorney, President of American Bar Association (1997–1998).

August 16th
* Albert Facchiano, 101, American mobster.st. [156]

August 14th
* Albert Brown, 105, American veteran, oldest survivor of Bataan Death March.

August 11th
* George Devol, 99, American inventor, creator of Unimate, the first industrial robot.
* Jani Lane, 47, American musician (Warrant).

August 8th
* Ruth Brinker, 89, American AIDS and nutrition activist, founder of Project Open Hand, vascular dementia.
* Harry Hillel Wellington, 84, American lawyer, Dean of Yale Law School (1975–1985) and New York Law School (1992–2000), brain tumor.

August 7th
* Marshall Grant, 83, American double bassist (Tennessee Two).
* Paul Meier, 87, American mathematician (Kaplan–Meier estimator), complications from a stroke.
* Charles Wyly, 77, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founder of Michaels Stores, automobile accident.

August 6th
* Bernadine Healy, 67, American cardiologist, director of the National Institutes of Health (1991–1993), brain cancer.
* Fred Imus, 69, American songwriter and radio talk show host, brother of Don Imus. (body found on this date)
* John Wood, 81, English actor (WarGames, Chocolat).

August 5th
* Hazel Johnson-Brown, 83, American Army nurse and general, Alzheimer's disease.
* Francesco Quinn, 48, Italian-born American actor (Platoon, The Young and the Restless), son of Anthony Quinn, heart attack.

August 4th
* Conrad Schnitzler, 74, German musician (Tangerine Dream, Kluster, Eruption, Berlin Express), stomach cancer.

August 3rd
* Rudolf Brazda, 98, German concentration camp prisoner, last known survivor of pink triangle homosexual deportation.
* Annette Charles, 63, American actress (Grease), complications of lung cancer.
* William Sleator, 66, American science fiction writer (Interstellar Pig).
* Bubba Smith, 66, American football player (Baltimore Colts) and actor (Police Academy).

August 2nd
* Leslie Esdaile Banks, 51, American author (The Vampire Huntress Legend Series), adrenal cancer.
* Baruj Benacerraf, 90, Venezuelan-born American immunologist, Nobel laureate (1980).
* Ralph Berkowitz, 100, American composer.
* DeLois Barrett Campbell, 85, American gospel singer (The Barrett Sisters), pulmonary embolism.
* Attilio Pavesi, 100, Italian Olympic cyclist, oldest living Olympic champion. [301]
* Venere Pizzinato, 114, Italian supercentenarian, oldest person in Europe and third-oldest living person in the world.
* James Ford Seale, 76, American murderer, Ku Klux Klan member.

August 1st
* Carmela Marie Cristiano, 83, American Roman Catholic nun (Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth); first nun to seek political office in New Jersey.
* Chieko N. Okazaki, 84, American Mormon women's leader, first non-Caucasian woman to hold a senior position in the LDS church, heart failure.

The Wayback Juke Box - R.E.M. - Driver 8 / Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars) (HQ) - June 9, 1984

Anti-whaling protest ship in distress

Anti-whaling organization Sea Shepherd said one of its boats chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean had issued a distress call after its hull was cracked by a rogue wave.

Reaad more

Cleanse Your Body

1.Eat only when you’re hungry.

2.Drink generous amount of clean, filtered water throughout the day even when you think you’re not thirsty.

3.Allow only whole or minimally processed foods to pass through your mouth. Go organic whenever possible.

4.Eat without using the TV, computer, mobile phone or any device.

5.Go on a water/juice fast.

6.Ingest only foods you’ve put together in your own kitchen.

7.Insist that each meal must make up of five different colors of food.

8.Abstain from alcohol, cigarettes and junk foods.

9.Repay your sleep debt.

10.Take a half-hour nap in the afternoons.

11.Engage in conscious physical activities, such as gardening, walking, hiking, resistance training, rope skipping or wood chopping, every single day.

12.Go to bed by 11 pm each night.

13.Include as many fresh produce as you can eat in every meal.

14.Do not eat three hours before bed time.

15.Spend some time outdoor as and when the weather permits.

Today's Blissful Place

Tiny Confessions

Stubborn Batman

A True Test of Leadership

Sometimes the sign of a true leader is the ability to let others lead.
One snowy winter day I decided it would be fun to take our two daughters cross-country skiing. It was a beautiful day filled with sunshine and the glisten of white snowflakes that beckoned us to get out of the house and enjoy the day. We piled in the car with our gear and headed to a wonderful winter playground complete with snow tubing, downhill skiing and cross-country skiing.

The cross-country ski trails had been groomed to make the experience more enjoyable for the novice skier. I was relieved since my girls were new to cross-country skiing and a bit sceptical of how plodding along on two skinny skis could possibly be fun when they were watching the other kids race down the slippery hills seated on a snow tube. I insisted that once they got the knack of cross-country skiing, they would enjoy gliding through the woods looking for critters and listening for their calls. They were sceptical but agreed to the challenge.

With a map in hand, skinny skis on our feet and poles on our wrists we set our skis on the narrow path and headed out on a trail, one skier behind the other. The girls caught on quickly and we were gliding along when we came to a fork in the path. Should we take the well-travelled, popular trail or the path less travelled? Of course, the children picked the path less travelled and we headed toward adventure.

Soon enough we came to another fork in the road that wasn't indicated on our map. Which way to go? We veered to the left which took us around a large frozen lake. The girls were getting tired. I was getting nervous. The map was no longer of use.

As cold seeped into our bones, worry crept into our hearts. We were lost and the sun was setting. Where was the path that led us back to the warm, cozy lodge? I watched as the girls grew despondent and lingered back on the trail. Words of encouragement fell on cold, deaf ears.

Another fork in the road, which way to go?

My youngest daughter wanted a chance to lead. She had been trailing behind in the third position and was tired of it. I acquiesced. Within seconds of taking the number one position on the path, I saw her head rise, her shoulders broaden and her gait liven. She was leading us now and she literally and figuratively rose to the challenge, soon she was motivating us with her energy and determination to set this right. When we came to yet another fork in the path, my oldest wanted to lead the pack. Again, I acquiesced and witnessed the same determination appear in body and spirit when she was the leader. Suddenly, she was using all of her senses to look for clues to find the lodge and determined to get us back as quickly as possible. The transformation in spirit was palpable.

Sure enough, we heard a car in the distance and followed the sound to find a curvy road. We soon unbuckled our skis, hoisted them on our shoulders and began to sing Girl Scout songs to lift our spirits. Within 10 minutes of hiking we saw the lodge before us and let out a whelp of excitement. We had done it. We had found the lodge before frost-bite and darkness set in.

As parents we like to think that we have all of the answers. It's our job to lead, to guide, to encourage. On this day, I learned that allowing others to lead is the only true path to leadership. When placed in a leadership role, others will rise to the challenge when given the chance to do so. We only need to get out of the way.

Toni Schutta

Toni Schutta is a Parent Coach and Licensed Psychologist with 17 years experience helping parents find solutions that work.

Today's Quote

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.”

― Woody Allen

Today's Quote

“Contemplation often makes life miserable. We should act more, think less, and stop watching ourselves live.”

― Chamfort

The Wayback Juke Box - Beatles - Rain

93-Year-Old Tennessee Woman Who Cleaned State Capitol for 30 Years Denied Voter ID

A 93-year-old Tennessee woman who cleaned the state Capitol for 30 years, including the governor’s office, says she won’t be able to vote for the first time in decades after being told this week that her old state ID failed to meet new voter ID regulations.

Read more

Half of America In Poverty? The Facts Say It's True

by Paul Buchheit

Recent reports suggest that almost 50% of Americans are in poverty or at a "low income" level. The claim is based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that includes health care, transportation, and other essential living expenses in the poverty calculation.

Read more

Ban Assault Clips

Brazilian baby 'born healthy with two heads

A 25-year-old woman in Brazil has given birth to conjoined twins (though the tabloid press isn’t being very polite about it, calling the twins “a baby with two heads”). While the twins have separate brains and spines, they share a heart, lungs, liver, and pelvis; they weighed 9.9 pounds at birth. The mother was poor and had no ultrasounds during pregnancy; she found out about her children’s condition just minutes before she gave birth. She has named them Emanoel and Jesus, and both appear to be healthy and feeding.

Read more

America’s Worst Drivers

Where are the country’s deadliest drivers?

Arrests of Service Men Raises Question of Racism in Soldier's Death

This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Pvt. Danny Chen,19, who was killed Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The U.S. Army says eight American soldiers have been charged in connection with the Oct. 3 death of a fellow soldier in southern Afghanistan. In a statement, the military said the eight soldiers from Chen’s company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty, assault, negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Chen was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province with what the Army described at the time as “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.” He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Read more

The Wayback Juke Box - Neil Young - I Wonder Why

This tune was recorded in the studio apparently in 1981. I know little about it, but it's a real heartbreaker. This is obviously referring to Neil's son Ben, who was born with severe cerebral palsy. This is around the same time as the Re-ac-tor sessions, but obviously didn't fit the mood of the album (though it does fit the theme).

Department of Justice Stops South Carolina’s Assault on Voting Rights

FINALLY!

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) took an important step in combating the epidemic of Republican vote suppression efforts on Friday. DOJ blocked a South Carolina law requiring voters to present photo identification, because the law would disproportionately disenfranchise minority voters. South Carolina is one of the states that under the Voting Rights Act (VRA), due to a history of discriminatory practices, must obtain pre-clearance from DOJ for new voting requirements.

Read more

Stuff Girls Say

Malted Hot Cocoa With Toasted Marshmallows

Serves 1
Hands-On Time: 05m
Total Time: 05m

Ingredients

* 1 serving hot cocoa mix (plus the ingredients called for in the package directions)
* 3 marshmallows
* 3 tablespoons malted milk powder

Directions

1. Heat broiler (of oven or toaster oven).
2. Place the marshmallows on a foil-lined broilerproof baking sheet and broil until just golden, about 30 seconds.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the hot cocoa mix according to the package directions.
4. Mix with the malted milk powder.
5. Top with the toasted marshmallows.

Wall Street’s Big Lie

The Occupy protests have made us aware of a sinister process by which wealth has systematically been funneled into fewer and fewer hands. In Newsweek, Michael Thomas says public anger will finally force the big banks to pay up in 2012.

Read more

Deaths in July 2011

July 31st
* Dorothy Brunson, 72, American businesswoman, first black woman to own a radio station, ovarian cancer.


July 29th
* Gene McDaniels, 76, American singer-songwriter.


July 28th
* John Marburger, 70, American physicist and presidential adviser, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
* Brian O'Leary, 71, American scientist and NASA astronaut, cancer.


July 27th
* Richard Chavez, 81, American activist and labor organizer, brother of Cesar Chavez, complications from surgery.
* Charles Gittens, 82, American Secret Service agent, first black appointed to that position.
* Hideki Irabu, 42, Japanese baseball player (Chiba Lotte Marines, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos), suicide by hanging.
* Polly Platt, 72, American film producer (Say Anything...), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
* Sir John Rawlins, 89, British naval officer, pioneer of diving medicine.
* Judy Sowinski, 71, American roller derby skater and coach.


July 26th
* Frank Foster, 82, American jazz saxophonist and composer, complications from kidney failure.
* Ahmed al-Gaddafi al-Qahsi, Libyan Army colonel, cousin and son-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi, air strike.
* Elmer Lower, 98, American broadcast executive, president of ABC News (1963–1974).


July 25th
* Arthur W. Murray, 92, American test pilot, Alzheimer's disease.
* Jeret Peterson, 29, American free style skier, 2010 Winter Olympics silver medalist, suicide by gunshot.


July 24th
* Tresa Hughes, 81, American actress (Another World, Don Juan DeMarco, Fame).
* Gilbert Luján, 70, American painter, prostate cancer.
* Christopher Mayer, 57, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Santa Barbara, Liar Liar).
* Dan Peek, 60, American singer-songwriter (America).
* G. D. Spradlin, 90, American actor (North Dallas Forty, The Godfather Part II).
* Jane White, 88, American actress (Beloved, Klute, Once Upon a Mattress).

July 23rd
* David Aiken, 93, American operatic baritone and opera director.
* Mathilde Aussant, 113, French supercentenarian, oldest person in France.
* Blair, 43, American poet.
* Milton Gwirtzman, 78, American speech writer, advisor to the Kennedy family, metastatic melanoma.
* Fran Landesman, 83, American lyricist and poet.
* Butch Lewis, 65, American boxing promoter, heart attack.
* Bill Morrissey, 59, American singer-songwriter.
* John Shalikashvili, 75, Polish-born American army general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1993–1997), stroke.
* Elmer B. Staats, 97, American public servant, Comptroller General of the United States (1966–1981).
* Amy Winehouse, 27, British singer-songwriter ("Rehab"), accidental alcohol poisoning.


July 22nd
* Tom Aldredge, 83, American actor (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire), lymphoma.
* Linda Christian, 87, Mexican-born American actress, first Bond girl (1954 television adaptation of Casino Royale).
* Charles Taylor Manatt, 75, American lawyer and banker, Chair of Democratic National Committee (1981–1985), Ambassador to Dominican Republic (1999–2001), stroke.
* Tex Nelson, 74, American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles).


July 21st
* Andrew Grant DeYoung, 37, American convicted murderer, executed by lethal injection.
* Milly Del Rubio, 89, American singer (The Del Rubio Triplets).
* Elliot Handler, 95, American businessman, co-founder of Mattel, namer of the Barbie doll, creator of Hot Wheels, heart failure.
* William Hildenbrand, 89, American government officer, Secretary of the United States Senate (1981–1985).
* Amelia Trice, 75, American Kootenai tribal leader and activist, leader of the last Indian war against the United States, cancer.


July 20th
* Blaize Clement, 78, American mystery writer and psychologist, cancer.
* Myra Kraft, 68, American philanthropist, wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, cancer.
* Mary Simpson, 85, American minister, first woman to be ordained by the American Episcopal Church.


July 19th
* Lil Greenwood, 86, American vocalist (Duke Ellington Orchestra).
* James T. Molloy, 75, American government officer, last Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives (1974–1993), complications of diabetes.

July 18th
* Edson Stroll, 82, American actor (McHale's Navy), cancer.

July 17th
* Jim Kincaid, 76, American news correspondent (ABC News), anchorman (WVEC) and essayist, heart attack.
* Joe Morris, Sr., 85, American Navajo World War II code talker.
*Alex Steinweiss, 94, American graphic designer, inventor of the album cover

July 15th
* Helen Beverley, 94, American actress (Green Fields), natural causes.
* Ed Flesh, 79, American art director, inventor of the Wheel of Fortune wheel, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


July 13th
* Jerry Ragovoy, 80, American songwriter ("Time Is on My Side"), stroke.


July 12th.
* Sherwood Schwartz, 94, American television producer, creator of The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island.


July 11th
* Henry Carlisle, 84, American translator, novelist and anti-censorship activist.
* Rob Grill, 67, American singer and songwriter (The Grass Roots).


July 10th
* Travis Bean, 63, American guitar maker, cancer.
* Kelly Thomas, 37, American homeless man, beaten.


July 8th
* Kenny Baker, 85, American fiddler, complications from a stroke.
* Roberts Blossom, 87, American actor (Doc Hollywood, Escape from Alcatraz, Home Alone).
* Sam Denoff, 83, American Emmy Award-winning television writer (The Dick Van Dyke Show, That Girl), Alzheimer's disease.
* Betty Ford, 93, American First Lady (1974–1977) and co-founder of Betty Ford Center.

July 6th
* Warren Leslie, 84, American author, journalist and buisness executive.

July 5th
* Neil Dougherty, 50, American basketball coach (TCU).
* Fonce Mizell, 68, American jazz and R&B record producer (Mizell Brothers).
* Theodore Roszak, 77, American scholar (The Making of a Counter Culture), cancer.
* John Sweet, 95, American actor (A Canterbury Tale).
* Gordon Tootoosis, 69, Canadian actor (Pocahontas, Legends of the Fall) and activist, pneumonia.


July 4th
* Lawrence R. Newman, 86, American advocate for the deaf.
* Jane Scott, 92, American rock music critic.

July 3rd
* Iain Blair, 69, British romance novelist, published under the name Emma Blair.

July 1st
* Jane Baker, 88, American community organizer and politician, first female Mayor of San Mateo, California.
* Charlie Craig, 73, American songwriter ("She's Single Again", "The Generation Gap"), lung cancer.
* Bud Grant, 79, American television executive, president of CBS (1980–1987).

Today's Quote

"Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life."

Christiane Northrup

Medical Doctor and Author

In Memoriam

Plastic Jesus - Paul Newman as Cool Hand Luke

Today's Quote

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.

– Alice Walker

Here's the joke....

As we were putting out cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve,
I accidentally dropped one. "No problem," I said, picking
it up and dusting it off before placing it back on the
plate.

"You can't do that," argued my four-year-old.

"Don't worry. Santa will never know."

He shot me a look. "So he knows if I've been bad or good,
but he doesn't know if you dropped a cookie on the floor?"

My New Favorite Thing

Filtron Cold Water Coffee Concentrate Brewer

Several weeks ago I was at the home of a friend who served the most delicious coffee.  She said she 'cold brewed' her coffee.  A process which removes much of the acid found in coffee.  After 'cold brewing' you are left with a coffee syrup of sorts...which you store in your fridge and when you want a cup you add some of the syrup to hot water.  So I invested in one of these and have been very pleased with the results.  Thanks Laurie!

Will Santa Come To Shanty Town---Eddy Arnold

Today's Quote

“Growth is the only evidence of life.”

― John Henry Newman

Haooy Festivus

How to help the economy: BUILD

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

Today's Quote

"Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn't lie."

— Oprah

10 Common and Uncommon Causes of Death

From Smoking to Serial Killers

The Wayback Juke Box - Christmas in New Orleans - Louis Armstrong

Sitting and Watching

by Leo Babauta

Have you ever felt that we are rushing through life, that we get so caught up in busy-ness that life is passing us almost without notice?

I get this feeling all the time.

The antidote is simple: sitting and watching.


Read more

How to Occupy the World

by Jason Hickel

The leading tagline of the Occupy Wall Street movement reads: “Protest for World Revolution.” This is an ambitious claim, to be sure. And in most respects it seems to ring quite true: the movement has successfully taken root not only in cities and towns throughout the United States but also in major urban centers around the world. On October 15, Occupy Wall Street’s success inspired a broad wave of coordinated occupations across Europe. I was a founding participant in the one that began in London.

But the Occupy movement has been notably absent outside of North America and Europe. Not for want of trying, of course: in southern Africa, where I am originally from, small groups of committed activists tried to instigate occupations in a few key regional cities, but without much success. In South Africa, a society divided by violent inequalities that proceed directly from neoliberal policy, Occupy managed to attract only a few dozen souls – a poor showing for a country known for one of the highest protest rates in the world.

What accounts for the failure of Occupy to capture the imagination of the global South, which comprises precisely the people whose lives have been most brutally affected by the recent global financial crisis? And in what sense can Occupy claim to be a world revolution if it leaves out – and in some cases even alienates – the vast, non-white majority of humanity?

Read more

GOP ‘family values’ mayor admits he’s gay

A Republican mayor in Mississippi admitted this week that he was gay after an audit revealed that he spent taxpayer money at a gay adult store in Canada.

Greg Davis was elected as the mayor of Southaven in 1997 on a platform of conservative “family values,” but he says he recently realized that he was gay.

“At this point in my life and in my career, while I have tried to maintain separation between my personal and public life, it is obvious that this can no longer remain the case,” the mayor, now in his third term, told The Commercial Appeal.

Read more

My New Favorite Thing

Santa Oven Mitt

To buy: $14, perpetualkid.com.

Easy Blender Eggnog

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 05m
Total Time: 20m

Ingredients

* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 4 large eggs
* 3/4 cup brandy

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the heavy cream, sugar, and nutmeg just to a simmer.
2. In a blender, blend the eggs on low speed for 1 minute. With the motor running, gradually add the hot cream mixture. Blend until frothy, about 30 seconds more. Add the brandy and blend to combine. Serve warm.

Pet Photo's

Website of the Day

Lists of Note

Lists, lists, lists.

Lists are created, and have been for many centuries, for all manner of reasons. It's my aim to feature some of the most notable examples right here.

Updated as often as possible; usually on weekdays.

Horrible Holiday Fights—and How to Stop Them

Sidestep the annual real-tree-versus-fake disputes and the "what the heck is wrong with a gift card?!?" squabbles with this bedrock advice.

Here's the joke....

One Christmas, a parent decreed that she was no longer going to remind her children of their thank-you note duties.

As a result their grandmother never received acknowledgments of the generous checks she had given.

The next year things were different, however.

"The children came over in person to thank me," the grandparent told a friend triumphantly.

"How wonderful!" the friend exclaimed. "What do you think caused the change in behavior?"

"Oh, that's easy," the grandmother replied. "This year I didn't sign the checks."

Leaderless GOP Attacks Itself

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

THE YEAR OF REVOLT

From the Middle East and North Africa to Europe and the U.S., a worldwide resistance took shape in 2011 that will go down in history.

Read more

Celtics Fan Celebration

Cinnamon Stars

MAKES: 6-1/2 dozen cookies PREP TIME: 20 minutes COOK TIME: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

* 2 large eggs
* 2 sticks (1 cup) Shedd's Spread Country Crock® Spread
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 2 Tbsp. additional sugar, for sprinkling


DIRECTIONS

Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Separate 1 egg; set aside.

Beat Shedd's Spread Country Crock® Spread with 1 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla until blended. Beat in flour. Divide dough into 4 pieces and shape into disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove plastic wrap and roll dough 1/8-inch thick on floured surface. Cut out cookies with 2-inch star or round cookie cutter; arrange on prepared baking sheets. If dough becomes too soft, return to refrigerator to firm up. Brush tops of cookies with lightly beaten egg white, then sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar blended with cinnamon. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are just golden. Let stand 2 minutes; remove cookies from sheets and cool completely on wire rack.

The Wayback Juke Box - Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill

Chocolate-Peppermint Bark

* YIELD: Makes about 1 pound
* COURSE: Candy

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup almonds, finely chopped
* 8 (1-oz.) sqs. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
* 6 (1-oz.) sqs. white baking chocolate, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
* Red food coloring
* 1/3 cup peppermint candies, crushed

Preparation

Line an 8"x8" baking pan with aluminum foil. Spread almonds in pan; set aside. Place semi-sweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high one minute; stir until smooth. Microwave 10 to 15 more seconds, if necessary. Pour semisweet chocolate over almonds. Allow to harden.

Repeat microwave melting instructions for white chocolate.

Stir peppermint extract into white chocolate. Pour half of white chocolate mixture into another bowl and tint pink using red food coloring. Slowly pour white and pink chocolate over semi-sweet chocolate; gently swirl with a knife. Sprinkle top with crushed candies. Chill until firm, about one hour.

Use foil to lift candy from pan; break into pieces. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Today's Quote

"Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place we must find."

— Wayne Dyer

Click image to enlarge

Man Arrested In Elevator Burning

New York police arrested a man Sunday in the horrific burning death of a woman in Brooklyn elevator. The woman was burned alive in the elevator of her apartment building Saturday when a man, dressed as an exterminator, doused her with flammable liquid and then set her on fire with a Molotov cocktail in Prospect Heights. All of it was caught in disturbingly clear surveillance footage. The victim, Delores Gillespie, 64, was returning from grocery shopping. Jerome Isaac, 47, has been charged with first-degree murder in Gillespie's death after he turned himself into police. He reportedly had been hired by Gillespie to do odd jobs around her apartment, but had been fired recently when Gillespie caught him stealing.

Read more

Deaths in June 2011

June 30th
* Ruth Roberts, 84, American songwriter ("Meet the Mets"), lung cancer.

June 29th
* Billy Beck, 86, American actor and clown.
* Billy Costello, 55, American boxer, lung cancer.

June 27th

* Elaine Stewart, 81, American actress and model, after long illness.

June 26th

* Edith Fellows, 88, American actress, natural causes.
* Norma Lyon, 81, American farmer and butter sculpture artist.
* Robert Morris, 78, American cryptographer, complications of dementia.
* Sidney Hollis Radner, 91, American collector of Harry Houdini memorabilia.

June 25th

* George Ballas, 85, American entrepreneur, inventor of the Weed Eater.
* Nick Charles, 64, American sportscaster (CNN Sports Tonight), bladder cancer.
* Shelby Grant, 74, American actress (Our Man Flint, Fantastic Voyage, Medical Center), brain aneurysm.
* J.O. Patterson, Jr., 76, American politician and religious leader, first black mayor of Memphis (1982).
* Alice Playten, 63, American actress (Henry, Sweet Henry), heart failure.

June 24th

* F. Gilman Spencer, 85, American Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper editor.

June 23rd

* Gene Colan, 84, American comic book artist (Daredevil, Howard the Duck), complications from liver disease and a broken hip.
* Peter Falk, 83, American actor (Columbo, Murder, Inc., Pocketful of Miracles, The Princess Bride).
* Patricia Merbreier, 86, American actress and television personality (Captain Noah and His Magical Ark).
* Fred Steiner, 88, American television composer (Perry Mason, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone).

June 22nd

* David Rayfiel, 87, American screenwriter (Out of Africa, Three Days of the Condor), heart failure.

June 21st

* E. M. Broner, 83, American author, multiple organ failure.
* Mark Gerard, 76, American racehorse trainer.
* Anthony Herrera, 57, American actor (As the World Turns), cancer.
* Maria Gomes Valentim, 114, Brazilian supercentenarian, world's oldest person.

June 20th

* Ryan Dunn, 34, American reality television star (Jackass, Viva La Bam), car accident.
* Eric Swenson, 64, American businessman, co-founder of Thrasher, suicide by gunshot.

June 19th

* Don Diamond, 90, American actor (F Troop, The Adventures of Kit Carson, Zorro).

June 18th
* Clarence Clemons, 69, American saxophonist (E Street Band) and singer ("You're a Friend Of Mine"), complications following a stroke.
* A. Whitney Ellsworth, 75, American editor and publisher (The New York Review of Books), pancreatic cancer.

June 17th
* George M. White, 90, American architect, Architect of the Capitol (1971–1995), complications of Parkinson’s disease.

June 16th
* Claudia Bryar, 93, American actress (Psycho II).
* Wild Man Fischer, 66, American street musician, heart failure.

June 15th
* Bob Banner, 89, American television producer and director (The Carol Burnett Show), Parkinson's disease.
* Joko Beck, 94, American Zen Buddhist teacher, founder of the Ordinary Mind School, after long illness.
* Bill Haast, 100, American snake expert, director of the Miami Serpentarium.

June 14th
* Mack Self, 81, American rockabilly musician and songwriter.

June 13th
* David C. Baldus, 75, American educator and anti-death penalty activist, cancer.
* Betty Neumar, 79, American murder suspect.
* William J. Spahr, 89, American intelligence analyst (CIA) and author, pneumonia.
* Burt Styler, 86, American screenwriter, heart failure.

June 12th
* Carl Gardner, 83, American singer (The Coasters).
* Alan Haberman, 81, American grocer, first to use the barcode system, heart and lung disease.
* John Hospers, 93, American philosopher, first Libertarian Party presidential candidate (1972).
* Kathryn Tucker Windham, 93, American author and journalist.
* Laura Ziskin, 61, American film producer (Pretty Woman, Spider-Man, What About Bob?), breast cancer.

June 11th
* Paul Alter, 89, American television director (Family Feud).
* Gunnar Fischer, 100, Swedish cinematographer (The Seventh Seal).

June 10th
* Art Balinger, 96, American actor.
* Jeanne Bice, 71, American entrepreneur and television personality.
* Abdi Shakur Sheikh Hassan, Somali politician, Interior Minister (since 2010), suicide bombing.
* Al Schwimmer, 94, American-born Israeli businessman, founder of Israel Aerospace Industries.
* Carol Montgomery Stone, 96, American actress.

June 9th
* Alan Rubin, 68, American trumpeter (The Blues Brothers), lung cancer .

June 7th
* Genaro Hernández, 45, American boxer, cancer.
* Leonard B. Stern, 87, American television director, producer, and writer (Get Smart), creator of The Honeymooners, co-creator of Mad Libs.

June 6th
* John R. Alison, 98, American airman, launched the Allied Reoccupation of Burma during World War II.
* Eleanor Dapkus, 87, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League), breast cancer.
* Shrek, 16, New Zealand celebrity sheep, euthanised. [265]

June 4th
* Lilian Jackson Braun, 97, American author (Cat Who series), natural causes.
* Lindsey Durlacher, 36, American Greco-Roman wrestler.
* Lawrence Eagleburger, 80, American diplomat and politician, Secretary of State (1992–1993).
* Martin Rushent, 63, English record producer (Buzzcocks, Human League, The Stranglers).
* Betty Taylor, 91, American performer (Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue).

June 3rd
* James Arness, 88, American actor (Gunsmoke), natural causes.
* Wally Boag, 90, American performer (Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue).
* Papa Joe Chevalier, 62, American sports talk radio host, stroke.
* Andrew Gold, 59, American singer-songwriter ("Lonely Boy", "Thank You for Being a Friend"), heart attack.
* Jack Kevorkian, 83, American physician and right to die activist, pulmonary thrombosis.
* Benny Spellman, 79, American R&B singer, respiratory failure.

June 2nd
* Ray Bryant, 79, American jazz pianist, after long illness.
* Geronimo Pratt, 63, American political activist (Black Panther Party), heart attack.
* Joel Rosenberg, 57, American science fiction author, heart attack.
* Lavina Washines, 71, American tribal leader, first female leader of the Yakima Nation (2006–2008).

June 1st
* Jaehoon Ahn, 70, North Korean-born American journalist and researcher, founding director of Radio Free Asia Korean language service.

Here's the joke....

Ever since I was a child, I've always had a fear of someone under my bed at night, so I went to a shrink and told him:

'I've got problems. Every time I go to bed I think there's somebody under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy.'

'Just put yourself in my hands for one year,' said the shrink. 'Come talk to me three times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears.'

'How much do you charge?'

'Eighty dollars per visit,' replied the doctor.

'I'll sleep on it,' I said.

Six months later the doctor met me on the street. 'Why didn't you come to see me about those fears you were having?' he asked.

'Well, Eighty bucks a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot of money! A bartender cured me for $10. I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a new pickup!'

'Is that so!' With a bit of an attitude he said, 'and how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?'

'He told me to cut the legs off the bed! - Ain't nobody under there now!!!'

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Men

Serves 36
Hands-On Time: 1hr 00m
Total Time: 3hr 30m

Ingredients

* 5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 large egg, at room temperature
* 1 cup unsulfured molasses
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium until smooth. Add the molasses and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, blending until smooth. The dough should gather into a semi-firm mass. (If it's not firm, add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour, but not enough to make it crumbly.)

2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.

3. Preheat oven to 350° F. On a floured surface, roll each disk to 1/8 inch thick. Use gingerbread-man cutters to make shapes. Transfer them to a large, parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Decorate, if desired. Bake until firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly before transferring to a rack.

The Replacements - Alex Chilton - Original Music Video

Just scored a couple of these at Target.com

Great gift, great price.

$42.00 Online Price

Reg:$85.99- Save $43.99 (51%)
Philips 7" Portable DVD Player (PET741) - Black/ White