I'm an Inky Wretch!!!!!!

A big thanks to BG for including me in her "Inky Wretches" section. It's the first time in my life I'm happy to be called a Wretch!

The Next Level of "Chick Flick"

I'm visiting 14 Giants this morning, and Ryan had a side posting by the most fabulous Gloria Steinem entitled "A Modest Proposal". I'm reading through the article, and Ms. Steinem made a good point:

If you call a movie or novel a "chick flick", then why not call a movie or a novel for guys a "prick flick"?

It's a little unorthodox, but I think it gets the point across.

Thanks for the Memories

During one of my late night tube-surfing fits, I watched an old favorite - SportCenter on ESPN. In years past, I was one of those that skipped the morning talk shows and went straight to SportCenter. Recently, I either haven't had the time to watch an entire episode or The Girls won the battle of the remote. This particular night, I needed my FIX.

I guess I must have gotten into the broadcast about half was through, but the story that caught my eye on the ticker was that one of my favorite sportscasters is leaving. Dan Patrick will depart ESPN after nearly 18 years on August 17th, 2007. This is a little difficult for me. It's a just another way of life saying YOU'RE GETTIN' OLD, CHICKY!


Thinking that Dan Patrick has been with ESPN for nearly two decades, I thought I'd look back at a few things from 1989...

• The cost of a gallon of gas was $1.12 (give or take a couple of cents, depending upon where you lived).
• Our President was George H.W. Bush, and Dan Quayle was the VP.
• A first-class stamp cost $0.25.
• On average, you would expect to pay $148,800 for a new house.
• A gallon of milk was $2.34.
• A dozen eggs cost $0.96.
• The median household income was $28,906.
• The population of the United States was 246,819,230.
• The average life expectancy was 75.1 years.
• Inflation was at 4.6%.
• Our federal debt was $2868.0 Billion.
• "The Little Mermaid", "When Harry Met Sally" (one of my all time favorites!), "Born on the Forth of July", "Steel Magnolias", and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" were in theatres.
• Best Picture went to "Driving Miss Daisy" (Bless the soul of Ms. Jessica Tandy).
• The San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowl XXIV.
• The Detroit Pistons were the NBA Champs (Bill Lambier and Isaiah Thomas - what a pair!).
• The Oakland A's won the World Series in 4 games over the San Francisco Giants (remember the earthquake right before the first pitch???).
• The Exxon tanker Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska, dumping 11 MILLION gallons of oil.
• The drug AZT is shown to slow the onset of AIDS.
• Lucille Ball, Salvador Dali and Sugar Ray Robinson all died in 1989.
• Robert Fulgham's All I really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten was released.
• Frozen yogurt, Tetris, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the "IT" things.
• Nolan Ryan records his 5,000th strikeout - at age 42 (thank you very much!).

I guess I could say "Ahh, for the good ol' days", but why would I? I'd still be in high school -albeit a Senior in high school - and I wouldn't have the wonderful family and friends that I have today. So let's just say it this way... I'm happy the good ol' days are just that - good.

Thanks for 18 great years, Dan. May you find peace in all your future endeavors, and may you have a long life filled with happiness.

Now if Stuart Scott leaves, I'm really going to have a problem...

Flying The "Un"friendly Skies

Since I didn't get a chance to watch the evening news tonight, I've taken to watching a lot of the stories on-line. I'm scrolling MSNBC.com tonight, and I come across this story. I'm a mommy, so a story that has a headline of "Mom and Chatty Toddler Kicked Off Flight" is an invitation that screams "READ ME NOW!!!"

The toddler in question is 19-months old. Jilly is 18 months old (as of today - Happy Birthday, Bear!!). I can understand what a mother traveling with a small child is going through. I'm sure that she was doing the best that she could under the circumstances, and to get on a flight with a stewardess that has a police-type attitude is probably the last thing this mother needed.

The most interesting thing about the whole she-bang is that Continental Airlines has done nothing to suspend the attendant during this investigation. Even with as many witnesses as the mother has - particularly the gentleman that the attendant leaned over to tell her that she needed to shut her toddler up - this woman is still "flying the friendly skies".

Many of the individuals that become attendants do so for the "glamour" of the job, not for providing assistance to those traveling. Too bad for those of us that fly.

I guess that this is just another reason the American Public - yes, that's you Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public - should hold those individuals within the service industry more accountable in their position.

Maybe the flight attendant should have removed herself from the flight. That probably would have made everyone's day a little bit brighter.

My Number Is...

I just got off the phone with my GP's office regarding the results of my blood work that I had to have done for school. Everything is normal - including my cholesterol levels. Now keep in mind that this is the first time in my adult life that I have had my cholesterol levels checked, and I was expecting them to be outrageously - even insanely - high.

My cholesterol is 171. Yea, me!

According to The Mayo Clinic's website, any total reading under of 200 mg/dL is "desirable"; 200 ml/dL to 239 ml/dL is considered "borderline high"; and any total reading over 240 ml/dL is considered "high". I did not ask for the entire breakdown of LDL versus HDL versus Triglycerides, but I'm going to go by and pick-up a copy of my blood work this week.

ARGH - Part Deux

So I just logged onto the Web, and one headline reads "White House Won't Rule Out Eventual Pardon For Libby. More Soon." Why the hell should this surprise me?

BG, you are definitely correct! I don't know if we'll be able to make it till 2008!

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet another reason the bastard should be impeached!!!!!!!!!!

BG, I need your help and guidance!!!!!!