February 26, 2008
Budget Speech
Our "esteemed" Governor will be making his budget speech in about 5 minutes - you can watch or listen live on NJ101.5 or on NJ News 12.
I can't wait to hear this load of crap.
UPDATE
Man - I am so glad I am not the Governor - I actually felt sorry for him having to deliver that speech. I hope this tax plan works. Read the budget here or check out some of the details:
HISTORY _ The proposal seeks the second-largest spending cut of any budget in New Jersey history and would mark only the fourth time since 1951 that the budget will be smaller from the previous year.
PROPERTY TAXES _ Property tax rebates for households that earn more than $150,000 would be eliminated. They would be cut by a third for households earning between $100,000 and $150,000 and sliced for renters.
OTHER TAXES _ No new or increased taxes proposed.
SOCIAL SERVICES _ A co-payment for Medicaid is proposed, and the state's FamilyCare program that provides health care for low-income workers faces funding cuts.
HEALTH CARE _ Hospitals face cuts in aid.
SCHOOLS _ Would get a $550 million increase in state aid. The state has been giving schools about $11 billion per year.
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS _ Municipalities face cuts in state aid, which municipal officials contend could mean higher property taxes and police and firefighter layoffs.
STATE GOVERNMENT _ Proposes cutting about 5,000 jobs through early retirements and layoffs for state workers. The agriculture, commerce and personnel departments would be eliminated.
LESS SERVICES _ State parks and motor vehicle agencies would see reduced hours.
HIGHER EDUCATION _ State colleges and universities face aid cuts
FINISH LINE _ Nothing is official until the Legislature adopts a plan and Corzine signs it. A plan must be approved by July 1.
TOLLS _ Corzine also seeks to increase highway tolls to pay state and fund transportation, though that plan is separate from the budget.
NEXT YEAR _ A $1.7 billion budget deficit is projected for 2009.
Posted by Cate at 11:46 AM | Comments (1)
February 13, 2008
Tell the Gov What YOU Think
Governor Corzine welcomes the opportunity to consider your recommendations for spending cuts for the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget.
If you would like to send your recommendation(s) to Governor Corzine, please take a minute to complete the following form.
Gee - do you really think he'd take any suggestions other than his own?
Posted by Cate at 10:28 PM | Comments (1)
Americans for Prosperity
Tonight I will be attending an American For Prosperity meeting at the local library. Steve Lonegan will be there and I am looking forward to hearing him speak. I have been following the Flying Pigs Coalition on NJ 101.5 and I am so outraged about all this government spending. Wecome to NJ - leave your wallet at the Statehouse.
Anyway - so I shall listen to what Mr. Lonegan has to say and make the decision as to whether I will support him or not. Something must be done. I can't see living out the rest of my life in this state. It's forcing people to leave in droves due to rising taxes and our fat-assed well padded politicians.
Posted by Cate at 04:16 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2008
On the Road with the Dog and Pony Show
I finally got a response from the Gov's office about when he plans on speaking in Monmouth and Ocean County and to try to pitch his toll plan. I copied the email below - any spelling/grammatical errors are on them, not me. I especially love the lack of capitalization on proper names. ::sigh::
See if he's touring in a town near you!
Dear Friends,
Please join Governor Jon S. Corzine as he hosts a series of Town Hall Meetings on Financial Restructuring and Debt Reduction. The Governor will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on this issue in all twenty-one counties of New Jersey. Below you will find information for the next six town hall meetings. A flyer for each of the meetings is attached to this email and contains all of the pertinent information. Please forward this information to your friends, family, colleagues and anyone else you think may be interested in attending. Please note that these events are free and open to the public and that a RSVP is not required. RSVP’s are used for planning purposes only.
Please visit http://www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/ to RSVP and to find information on upcoming Town Hall Meetings in your county.
MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008 7-9PM – CAMDEN, Voorhees
Voorhees Middle School - Performing arts center
329 Route 73
Voorhees, NJ 08043
RSVP: 609-292-9763
http://www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/listing/
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2008 7-9PM – UNION, Cranford
union county community college – roy w. smith theater
1033 springfield ave.
CRANFORD, nj 07016
RSVP: 609-777-2212
http://www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/listing/
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2008 2-4PM – OCEAN, Toms River
TOms River North High School - Ritacco Center
1245 Old Freehold Rd.
Toms River, NJ 08753
RSVP: 609-777-2210
http://www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/listing/
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2008 7-9PM – MONMOUTH, Marlboro
Marlboro High School – theatre
95 North Main St.
Marlboro, NJ 07746
RSVP: 609-777-2607
http://www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/listing/
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2008 7-9PM – PASSAIC, Wayne
Passaic County Technical Institute - Auditorium
45 Reinhardt RD.
Wayne, NJ 07470
RSVP: 609-777-2510
http://www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/listing/
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2008 7-9PM – ATLANTIC, Mays Landing
Atlantic Cape Community College – Walter edge theater
5100 Black Horse Pike
Mays Landing, NJ 08330-2699
RSVP: 609-777-2208
http://www.state.nj.us/townhallmeetings/listing/
Posted by Cate at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)
New Jersey Toll Hike
Our most esteemed Governor Corzine has come up with a solution to end all of New Jersey's financial woes - he's gonna toll us to death!
A look at New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine's plan to pay state debt and fund transportation projects by increasing highway tolls:
HOW MUCH: Corzine wants to increase tolls 50 percent in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022, but the increases would also include adjustments to reflect inflation in the years tolls weren't hiked. After 2022, tolls would rise every four years to reflect inflation.
THE COST: Under Corzine's plan, over the next decade, the cost of the average turnpike trip would increase from $1.20 to $5.85, the average parkway trip would rise from 35 cents to $1.60 and the average expressway toll would go from 50 cents to $2.40.
A 35 cent toll would be put on Route 440 in 2010.
WHICH ROADS: The Atlantic City Expressway, Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike, with tolls added to the 4-mile-long Route 440 in Middlesex County.
THE GOAL: The administration estimates the deal could be worth as much as $37.6 billion, helping pay off as much as $29.6 billion in toll road, transportation, open space and general debt and provide money for road work, helping save nearly $1 billion annually.
HOW WOULD IT WORK: Corzine wants to create a nonprofit corporation that would manage toll roads and issue bonds to raise a huge chunk of money up front. The bonds would be paid back with increased tolls.
OTHER MEASURES: Corzine wants to ask voters to make it tougher for the state to borrow without voter approval and to limit annual state spending growth to revenue growth. He also promised not to let state spending increase in the budget due July 1.
WORRIES: Businesses say increased tolls could make goods costlier, while others worry trucks and cars looking to avoid higher tolls will jam local roadways.
THE PITCH: Corzine has promised public meetings in all 21 counties. He has scheduled the first public meeting for Jan. 12 in Livingston.
Posted by Cate at 08:22 AM | Comments (1)
November 06, 2007
Get a GRIP people!
Today is Election Day and we in NJ need a clean start. We have too many fat cats sitting around Trenton collecting your hard earned tax money while most of NJ works its ass off to pay rising property taxes. Don't even get me going on the outrageous costs of education. People are hauling ass out of NJ as fast as they can say "Buy my house - PLEASE!" Vote these people OUT - we DO have a voice. Now is the time to use it to send a message loud and clear.
And, whatever you do - please, for God's sake, vote NO on all four ballot questions. We have NO MORE MONEY TO BORROW!
Posted by Cate at 09:57 AM | Comments (3)
October 04, 2007
Disgusting
5 Shore area men among dozens arrested on child porn charges.
One of these guys was a volunteer forefighter and another was a volunteer volleyball referee. I hope they all rot in jail, sick perverts.
Posted by Cate at 03:16 PM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2007
I swore I wouldn't watch
Six years later... and I still cry..
Posted by Cate at 10:18 AM | Comments (1)
August 28, 2007
Million Dollar Video
Two college kids are getting sued by A&P for one million dollars.
The crime?
Creating a music video using produce. Apparently, A&P had some issues with the video. Check it out here or watch it below.
Fight the Power boys!
Posted by Cate at 08:45 AM | Comments (2)
June 27, 2007
RIP Liz
Fashion House Founder Liz Claiborne Dies
I loved her clothing lines and her handbags. I believe that her fashions are timeless... classic. Every woman should own at least one piece of her clothing.
Posted by Cate at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
Update
More pic on Flickr
Posted by Cate at 11:18 PM | Comments (5)
This is it
We've just been informed that it is a mandatory evacuation.
Good thoughts..please.
::edited at 6pm:: The evacuation was not mandatory. So, we chose to stay,along with our neighbors. It looks like it's going to rain, according to the forecast. The sky is dark but it's hard to tell if it's from the smoke or the weather. I hope it freakin' pours.
Posted by Cate at 02:12 PM | Comments (10)
More pics
Check out my Flickr page for some photos I was able to take of the smoke from yesterday. The fire is still ongoing and causing quite a bit of a mess here in my town.
Thank you for all who have expressed your thoughts and prayers. They are so appreciated.
Posted by Cate at 11:55 AM | Comments (1)
May 15, 2007
HUGE fire
Posted by Cate at 09:30 PM | Comments (3)
April 13, 2007
Good Luck Guv
Our best wishes for a speedy recovery going out to Governor Corzine.
The newspaper was unsure if the governor was wearing a seat belt.
Corzine, who was seated in the right front passenger seat, underwent surgery Thursday night on a badly fractured left leg. He also had a broken sternum, a broken collarbone, a slight fracture of the lower vertebrae and six broken ribs on each side, said Dr. Steven Ross, trauma director at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where the governor was taken after the crash in Galloway.
Posted by Cate at 07:23 AM | Comments (1)
February 20, 2007
Da Bowser Bill?
There's a bill pending in the NJ Senate that
"Prohibits certain deceptive advertising or concert performance practices with respect to live musical performances or productions"
Example, you go to the Garden State Arts Center PNC Bank Center to see an oldies band from the sixties only to realize that there are NO original members from the band actually on stage.
Wow - thank goodness NJ is looking out for me.
Posted by Cate at 07:37 AM | Comments (5)
November 14, 2006
Weight-loss center blasts Scout cookie sale
WTF??
RARITAN BOROUGH -- A Girl Scout cookie conflict with a local weight-loss center has resulted in a semisweet ending.
The conflict began Friday evening when some LA Weight Loss Center clients were upset that Girl Scouts were selling cookies in front of the neighboring Blockbuster video store, said an LA Weight Loss counselor who would not give her name. Both stores are in a shopping center at Route 206 South and Orlando Drive.
"It's a conflict of interest and it's in poor taste, but the girls didn't know who they were asking," the counselor said.
The clients told the branch manager, who called the weight-loss center's corporate office.
Dorothy DiNorcia of Raritan Borough was renting a movie in Blockbuster when she said she heard a clerk there tell his manager, "I have LA Weight Loss on the phone. They are threatening to call the police if we don't get them (the Girl Scouts) to move from in front of our store."
DiNorcia said, "It was ridiculous. Grown men or women can't say no to cookies?"
Christy Boyle, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Rolling Hills Council, said Troop 1065 of Bridgewater had permission to sell in front of Blockbuster for the fall cookie sale fundraiser but that after the complaint, the girls moved their table to the Blockbuster entrance farthest from LA Weight Loss.
The next day, Boyle said, the cookie manager of the Girl Scouts of Rolling Hills Council met with someone at LA Weight Loss to discuss the issue.
The two sides agreed to have the girls stagger their selling schedule to be more sensitive to clients attending meetings at LA Weight Loss, Boyle said.
Girl Scouts from another troop will return to Blockbuster on Friday evening to sell more cookies, Boyle said.
Boyle said the girls have been selling cookies in front of Blockbuster for years but never had a problem before Friday evening.
However, rejection can happen, said Marilyn Siegel, CEO for the Girl Scouts of Rolling Hills Council. Girl Scouts can get shooed off the sidewalks in front of other businesses, Siegel said, and Boy Scouts have been booted for selling popcorn.
Some shopping centers have no-solicitation rules, which need to be applied equally, Siegel said. Sometimes, a fellow merchant may not believe in the cause someone else is supporting. Other times, a store may be concerned that cookies, or other such products, may pull away sales, she said.
The booth sales -- sales in a public place such as the shopping center -- supplement the girls' door-to-door sales, Boyle said. There are 684 booth sales scheduled this cookie season around the region.
"It's a safe place for the girls to get out there and show they are Girl Scouts and they are proud of it," Boyle said. "People generally welcome Girl Scouts. You'd hope if people weren't interested in purchasing cookies, they would smile and say 'No thanks.'"
This batch of fall cookie sales raises money for the 10,500 Girl Scouts within the Rolling Hills Council, which includes Middlesex Borough, parts of Somerset and Warren counties and all of Hunterdon County, Boyle said.
Last year, the Rolling Hills Council sold almost 500,000 boxes, bringing in about $350,000 for the troops and $1 million for the council. This year's cookie count has not been calculated.
Posted by Cate at 07:32 AM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2006
Shopping for children
Looks like Madonna is trying to stay in the news and decided to buy herself an African child.
quoted from the NY Post:
"Days ago, she lined up 12 African boys - tots hand-selected for her perusal. She picked out a 1-year-old, David, to take home in her luggage.
Well guess what? The boy selected in this freakish slave auction is no AIDS orphan. He's got a biological father, plus a granny - but was placed in an orphanage after his mother died. His family loves him. They just can't afford him.
If Madonna possessed a speck of sanity or shame, she would write a generous check. Instead, the boy's father says he is thrilled at the prospect of a wealthy American carting off his progeny.
What the hell?
I applaud anyone who adopts a child, especially one from a different country. I can't imagine the enormous expense involved but the joy of bringing a child into your home certainly outweighs the cost. But, to remove a child from a family who loves him but can't afford him - that's horrible. Placing children in a line-up just so you can pick out the "nicest" one is flat out cruel and heartless.
According to this article, Malawi (the country) does not allow foreigners to adopt a baby. Hmm - I guess when Madonna showed up on her money train, the government looked the other way. Like Cyndi Lauper said in the 80's, money changes everything.
Normally, I don't report on too many celebs and their stupidity selfishness but this story just chaps my ass.
Posted by Cate at 08:54 AM | Comments (3)
March 15, 2006
Perhaps she bit off more then she could chew?
School officials on Tuesday fired a middle school teacher charged with biting a student who would not spit out a piece of candy.
Caroline Kolb pleaded not guilty in Jefferson County District Court to fourth-degree aggravated assault for allegedly biting the 14-year-old student on the back during a classroom altercation in January.
Jefferson County Public Schools fired Kolb for insubordination and conduct unbecoming a teacher following a district investigation, according to a copy of her termination letter obtained by The Courier-Journal.
The letter said that Kolb at one point denied intentionally biting Garrick Hudson.
A call on Tuesday by The Associated Press to Kolb's attorney, William Rump, was not immediately returned.
Lauren Roberts, a spokeswoman for the school district, said Kolb received the termination letter Tuesday.
"Based on the evidence," Roberts said, "termination was deemed the appropriate action in this case."
The student's mother, Cassandra Hicks, said the incident occurred Jan. 11 when her son disobeyed Kolb's order to spit out some candy. Kolb told him to stand in the hallway, but he returned to get his books, she said.
As Kolb and Garrick struggled over the books, he fell and hit his head and she "started biting him on his left upper shoulder."
Garrick was treated at Kosair Children's Hospital for a bite wound, according to court records. He also had a small knot on his head.
According to Kolb's termination letter, two students said they saw her bite him, and several staff members said they later heard Kolb admit doing so.
"You denied biting the student but admitted that you found fabric in your mouth during the incident," the letter stated.
Before her firing, Kolb had been reassigned to non-instructional duties.
In 2004 and 2005, administrators had warned Kolb to avoid being physically confrontational with students, according to her termination letter.
Posted by Cate at 12:50 PM | Comments (3)
March 02, 2006
REALLY?
I NEVER would have guessed.
[/heavy sarcasm]
(full story here)
Brad and Angelina, Tom and Katie, Nick and Jessica -- it seems people can’t get enough of hearing about the gritty details of celebrities’ lives.
It's called being "star struck" and it's a phenomenon that is not only bigger than life -- it's bigger than ever.
"You have a confluence of forces coming together in technology and the media to make it happen and it's worldwide and it's multiplying like lice," says Stuart Fischoff, PhD, spokesman for the American Psychological Association and professor emeritus of media psychology at the California State University at Los Angeles.
Indeed, from the international mania of the New York Post's Page Six, to increasing circulation of celebrity-driven publications like People, US, OK, and In Style, to the cult star status of gossip reporters like Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart and the New York Daily News’ Rush & Malloy, there is no question that all-things-celebrity have captured -- and are keeping -- our attention like never before.
But what drives our endless fascination with celebrity worship? And more importantly, can its enticing seduction ever be harmful to our health?
The answer, it seems, depends a lot on who is doing the worshipping --and the reasons why.
Posted by Cate at 08:16 PM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2006
Wayne's World
What the HELL was Gretzky thinking? Of course you are going to get caught. Does the name Peter Rose ring a bell?
Idiot.
Posted by Cate at 09:25 AM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2006
Tragedy
A horrible murder was committed in my town which resulted in the death of two children, ages 7 and 14. I'm not linking the news stories but it's all over the local news as well as the NY stations.
It's awful.
Please - hug your children and hold them close. It's news stories like these that make my skin crawl.
Posted by Cate at 01:36 PM | Comments (2)
November 21, 2005
GM to Close Nine Plants, Lay Off 30,000
Detroit - General Motors Corp. (GM) will eliminate 30,000 manufacturing jobs and close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain plants by 2008 as part of an effort to get production in line with demand.
(story continued here)
How awful. Granted, it's over a period of several years but 30,000? I am surprised that the GM plant in north Jersey wasn't on the list. Further in the news story, it does mention an unidentified site that is also slated to close. GM is in serious trouble.
Posted by Cate at 09:37 AM | Comments (4)
November 13, 2005
Heard from my Soldier
Back in September I wrote about joining an organization called Adopt A Platoon. I was assigned my soldier at that time and I've been sending him letters, cards, magazines and packages with food and other goodies. I've been worried about him - I know he's near a lot of fighting in Iraq. Well, I got an email from him today!! I'm SO excited!!! He's doing well but tells me that it is dangerous. I am SO thankful that he is alive. I started to cry when I read his email. He was even able to send me a few pictures of his vehicle as well as a picture of himself.
Here's part of his email:
"Well, I would like to say thank you to you, your family and everyone who has been sending letters and such. I love receiving them. It helps remind me why I get up every day to do my duties. Even when times are extremely rough. It puts a warm feeling in my heart knowing that there are those back home who care about the soldiers... regardless of race, religion, etc for we are all human and looking to help one another."
I'm asking that you please keep him, and all other soldiers, in your thoughts and prayers.
Posted by Cate at 04:21 PM | Comments (5)
November 08, 2005
Four more years.... of what?
I'm sorry Doug. Even though you were endorsed by pretty much every major newspaper in New Jersey, somehow, it didn't get the message across.
Posted by Cate at 10:27 PM | Comments (4)
Election Day
C'mon New Jersey. Get out there and VOTE!
Posted by Cate at 09:32 AM | Comments (2)
October 27, 2005
No blogs for you!
Worth the suspension?
NEWARK, N.J. — A Roman Catholic high school has ordered its students to remove their online diaries from the Internet, citing a threat from cyberpredators. Students at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta appear to be heeding a directive from the principal, the Rev. Kieran McHugh.McHugh told them in an assembly earlier this month to remove any personal journals they might have or risk suspension. Websites popular with teens include myspace.com and xanga.com.
Officials with the Diocese of Paterson say the directive is a matter of safety, not censorship. No one has been disciplined yet, said Marianna Thompson, a diocesan spokeswoman.
Looks like the rule has been on the books for a few years but they are just now getting around to enforcing the rules.
She said the ban has been on the books for five years but is only now being strictly enforced. Thompson said students aren't being silenced but rather told that they cannot post online writings about school or their personal lives. (emphasis mine)
Nice - I bet all the parents would love to have the teachers and administration spending their time surfing the net, looking for those renegade blogs.
A search of both myspace.com and xanga.com Wednesday by The Associated Press found no postings by users who mentioned the school. Profiles posted by other users include photos and detailed personal information on topics such as musical tastes, body measurements and sexual history.Kurt Opsahl of the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, which champions the rights of bloggers, said there have been several attempts by private institutions elsewhere to restrict or censor students' Internet postings.
"But this is the first time we've heard of such an overreaction," he said. "It would be better if they taught students what they should and shouldn't do online rather than take away the primary communication tool of their generation."
Thompson said parents of students who enroll in the schools sign contracts governing student behavior, including responsible Internet use.
That could dilute the students' free speech claims somewhat, acknowledged Ed Barocas, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
"The rights of students at private schools are far different than those of public schools because administrators at public schools are agents of government," he said. "That's not the case here."
Posted by Cate at 07:17 AM | Comments (2)
September 15, 2005
Road Rage Gone Horribly Wrong
I didn't see this on any other NJ blogs yesterday and I thought the news story was very interesting.
LINDENWOLD — A Lindenwold man who authorities say was assaulted during a road rage incident died Tuesday.James D. Munter, 53, suffered severe head injuries when he was punched twice by a 17-year-old borough resident, authorities said.
Sarubbi offered the following account of the incident: Munter, a computer programmer at the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia, was returning home from work around 5:30 p.m. Monday.
He was driving his 1999 Mercury Sable along the White Horse Pike in Laurel Springs when the teenager cut him off in his 2003 Dodge Durango.
I know what you are thinking - damn kid. I hate being cut off, especially by SUVs. But wait, there's more to this story.
Munter followed the juvenile and began screaming at him.The teenager became concerned and used a cell phone to call his father. The father urged his son to drive home.
Munter followed the teenager to the boy's home about three miles away. The teen stopped his car across the street from his house. He got out and ran toward the home, crossing in front of Munter's vehicle.
Munter drove into the teenager, hitting him and causing him to land on the hood of the Mercury.
The teen, whom Zucker said is about 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, rolled off the hood of Munter's car, landed on his feet, walked to the driver's side of the car and punched Munter twice in the head.
Munter was not breathing when he arrived at the hospital, so he was placed on a ventilator, his wife Nadine said. Doctors tried twice to remove it, but Munter still was unable to breathe on his own. He died at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The teen was ordered to remain in the Camden County Youth Detention Center, at least until a hearing scheduled for Thursday. Zucker said he hoped his client would be released to his parents then.
"It's a true tragedy because it certainly escalated into something that shouldn't have happened," Zucker said. "He was almost killed."
Zucker said three officials at the school where his client was a junior wrote letters supporting him, praising him as a good student and good citizen.
What a goddamn shame. If this doesn't change the way people act on the roads, nothing will.
Posted by Cate at 05:25 PM | Comments (5)
September 14, 2005
I can sleep tonight
Twitney Spears just spawned out gave birth.
There goes the gene pool.
Posted by Cate at 05:52 PM | Comments (3)
Interesting news tidbit
Perhaps he shouldn't be blaming Bush for everything
Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Flooded Home
Two Heavy Trucks, Helicopter Were Involved in Lawmaker's Trip at Height of Crisis.
Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a local congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings -- even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops, ABC News has learned.
Read the rest of the article here.
Pay special attention to the last few paragraphs of this news story.
Posted by Cate at 09:33 AM | Comments (5)
September 10, 2005
Katrina Images
I think these are some fantastic and very moving pictures from the hurricane. See them all here.
Posted by Cate at 10:54 PM | Comments (1)
September 06, 2005
Doing more
I have been wanting to do more for the victims of the Katrina. I searched this website and I placed a call to the place that I selected. Unfortunately, no one was available so I did leave a message but I will also try to call tomorrow. I am going to get the two GS troops involved as I think we can all come up with a sizable donation.
I have a box set up in my bedroom halfway filled with school supplies and books. I've got to hit the Dollar Store tomorrow for more items. Eldest and Youngestwant to help. I am going to have them look through their books and pick out some that are in good condition so we can pass those along as well.
I've got some more work to do tonight so I'm off. Catch you tomorrow!
Posted by Cate at 09:20 PM | Comments (3)
September 02, 2005
Teary-eyed
I'm watching the convoy of trucks, buses, suvs and other vehicles drive over the bridge in New Orleans. It was incredible to see that and knowing that finally these poor people are going to get some help.
from Fox News:
The governor, Gov. Kathleen Blanco called the looters "hoodlums" and issued a warning to lawbreakers: Hundreds of National Guard troops hardened on the battlefield in Iraq have landed in New Orleans.
"They have M-16s and they're locked and loaded," she said. "These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so, and I expect they will."
It's time to take back the city and get back to helping people.
Posted by Cate at 11:25 AM | Comments (4)
August 13, 2005
We met Buzz Aldrin!
We met Mary at the Paramus Barnes and Noble. She had called me earlier to let me know that the parking lot was full and suggested a parking alternative. Luckily, I managed to follow a couple guys to their car and I snagged their spot. When we walked into the store, the girls were oohing and aahing over the store! LOL. Our local bookstore looks nothing like this two floor B&N. They were impressed.
I had to call Mary on her cell to figure out where she was in the store. When she said to look up, I did and there she was, waving away. She said that the books that were to be signed were on the counter right next to us. I looked and there were none at all. Crap. I walked over to the information desk and asked if there were any more copies. The man handed me the very last book. I also grabbed another Buzz Aldrin book just so I could get it autographed and we headed upstairs to meet Mary.
The line was pretty long but luckily, we jumped right in with Mary. I am sure the guy behind us wasn't happy. Too bad for you buddy. We weren't the only people doing that and besides, the line was moving at a slow but very steady pace. At one point, we saw a B&N employee pushign a handcart with a stack of the books. I ran out of line and grabbed a copy, then went back and snagged another. They were already signed by Buzz. Mary very graciously swapped her unsigned books with our already signed books so the girls could get them autographed. I think we only waited about an hour before we were atthe very front of the line. Buzz was very nice - he signed the books and even shook both girls hands. ::Eldest later said that she wouldn't wash her hand ever again:: I also shook his hand. There was another man sitting next to him who was also autographing the book. His name is Wendell Minor. I complimented him on the illustrations in the book. They really were beautiful.
After we got out autographs, Husband brought the girls downstairs to get a drink while Mary and I (quickly) browsed through the music section. We headed back downstairs and found Husband, looking rather frazzled, and the girls. We decided to go to get a drink at the cafe while Husband got an opportunity to browse around B&N child-free. Eldest ordered a hot chocolate, Youngesta pepsi and I chose a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino Blended Crème. OMG. It was heaven in a plastic cup. We sat for a little while and enjoyed our drinks before we had to bring the girls to the restrooms. We shopped and had a very nice time.
We finally got back home around 1130pm. It was so worth the trip.
Youngestand her copy of the book
Eldest - looking adorable as usual.
Eldest meeting Buzz Aldrin
Buzz signing the book. The man next to him, Wendell Minor, illustrated the book.
Buzz shaking Eldest's hand. Thank goodness Mary got this photograph. I missed taking a photo of him shaking Youngest's hand. She stepped right up to shake his hand. She wasn't shy about it at all.
Posted by Cate at 10:57 AM | Comments (9)
August 10, 2005
A Nightmare
Eldest came home from Girl Scout camp today telling me that there was an accident at the Boy Scout camp. She saw several helicopters circling above the campgrounds. (the Boy Scout camp borders right along side to the Girl Scout camp). Imagine my shock and horror when I heard that an 8-year-old girl was killed and 3 others hurt in tree fall at Boy Scout camp.
The story is below. (link)
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the injured girls and that poor little girl's family. My heart breaks at the very thought.
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. - An 8-year-old girl was killed and three others injured Wednesday when an oak tree crashed down on them while they were learning about first aid at a Boy Scout camp, authorities said.
The girls were participating in a class being taught as part of an overnight camp when the 31-foot tree suddenly snapped, falling on the picnic table at which they were sitting, Police Chief Kenneth Flatt said.
The tree broke about three feet from its base and crashed through a tarp over the picnic table, landing on the girl's head. She was pronounced dead at Southern Ocean County Hospital in Manahawkin.
The other girls - ages 9, 10 and 16 - suffered minor injuries. Their identities weren't immediately released. One girl suffered a broken ankle; the others had bruises and scrapes.
A counselor who heard the tree crack before it fell yelled to the youths, but they couldn't get out of the way, Flatt said. The point of impact was about 10 feet from the top of the tree, he said.
"It was an accident. There was no warning. There wasn't a whole lot anybody could do," said Flatt.
The girls were among a group of 17 children from a northern New Jersey group called the Resident Camp Association. They were on a weeklong "Learning For Life" program at the heavily wooded, 600-acre Joseph A. Citta Scout Reservation, according to Ethan Draddy, an executive with the Jersey Shore Council of Boy Scouts of America, in Toms River.
He did not know what community the group was from.
"Learning For Life" is a Boy Scout-developed program that aims to build children's confidence and values.
There were seven counselors on the scene at the time, and one who had been teaching the 45-minute first aid class administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the girl, to no avail. Police arrived about six minutes after the 11:59 a.m. call, Flatt said.
The camp undergoes a safety inspection that includes forestry at least twice a year, but it wasn't clear whether the tree was part of that inspection, he said. It had rained overnight but there had been no lightning reported, Flatt said.
"There are a number of reasons that tree could've fell down. I'm not going to address them," said Flatt.
The group had arrived Sunday and was to stay until Friday, Draddy said.
"We are feeling completely and utterly devastated," he said.
The death was the latest in series of tragedies to strike scouting-related activities this summer.
Four adult Boy Scout leaders were killed in a July electrical accident in Bowling Green, Va. Five other people have died this summer from drowning and lightning during Scout outings in Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and California.
Posted by Cate at 05:06 PM | Comments (6)
August 09, 2005
Welcome Home Friends
Shuttle Discovery Lands Safely
We watched the Shuttle land before Eldest went off to camp. It is so incredible to watch.
Posted by Cate at 08:28 AM | Comments (2)
August 08, 2005
Wasn't expecting this just yet
I was reading my email news alerts and discovered that Peter Jennings has died from lung cancer. My thoughts are with his family.
Posted by Cate at 08:04 AM | Comments (5)
July 16, 2005
OUCH!
14-Pound Baby Girl Born in Kentucky
I know I cringed and crossed my legs when I read this story.
Posted by Cate at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2005
W-w-w-w-wilbur!
Eatery Puts 'Mr. Ed,' of Course, on Menu
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Some customers say wild horses couldn't drag them to the table at a New Zealand restaurant that's offering a chargrilled horsemeat dish called "Mr. Ed is Dead."
I'd better not show this to Eldest - she loves horses.
Posted by Cate at 12:40 PM | Comments (4)
WTF is WRONG with people?
Moms putting kids in car trunks.
"The arrest of a Virginia woman for traveling with children in her car trunk has called attention to a recent series of incidents in which mothers have stashed their kids in trunks, including one instance when a boy died.
One woman was punishing her children, another lacked a babysitter, another said her kids wanted to ride in the trunk, and two said the car was too crowded.
"It's silly and dangerous on so many levels," says Alan Korn of Safe Kids Worldwide, a non-profit group."
It's astounding that people can be this stupid. Is this such a hard concept to grab?
DO NOT PUT YOUR CHILD OR PET IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR. Period. No exceptions.
Other cases since May:
• Laverne Dunlap, 35, of Gardena, Calif., was charged in June with three counts of child endangerment after allegedly driving 70 miles with two children - a boy, 15, and a girl, 10 - in the trunk. Seven (emphasis mine) more people were riding in her Toyota Corolla.
• Tamantha Parker, 33, of Quantico, Va., was charged this month with child abuse after police said she locked her two children, who police said were about 5, in a trunk as punishment for misbehaving in Wal-Mart. Nine people were packed into her car, including at least two others who should have been in child car seats, police said.
• Lanora Lucas, 37, of Frederick, Md., was charged last month with reckless endangerment after a police officer saw her put her 9-year-old son, 3-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old friend into her Volvo's trunk. She told the officer the kids wanted to ride there.(emphasis mine)
Oh that's brilliant. Maybe if they want to play in traffic or jump off a bridge, you can let them do that too.
What planet are these people from and can we just send them back?
Posted by Cate at 12:30 PM | Comments (6)
May 26, 2005
Dirty ‘Darth Vader’ stuns women
::link::
SEREMBAN: While the widely-hyped movie Star Wars runs in cinemas all over the world, the dark force of Darth Vader struck in Bandar Baru Nilai.
Yesterday, women factory workers in two industrial areas were appalled and screamed when a man in full Darth Vader costume flashed them.
A 33-year-old factory supervisor who identified herself as “Priscilla” said the man got out of his tinted two-door car, strutted about menacingly in his Darth Vader suit before opening it and revealing himself to 15 women workers standing at a bus stop at about 7am.
“At first, I thought he was a die-hard Star Wars fan trying to impress us with his costume. But we were shocked when he showed us his private-parts,” she said.
The women were waiting for buses to take them home after their night shift.
“We were all exhausted after a long day at work and did not see the man’s face as he was wearing a dark mask,” she said.
When some of the women screamed, he jumped into his car and drove off towards the North-South Expressway.
“Next time it will not be “Revenge of the Sith” but revenge on a sick man if we catch him doing his act again,” she added.
The flasher was reported to have displayed himself to another group of workers at a nearby factory.
When contacted, Acting OCPD Supt Mohd Taib Latif said the police need more information such as the flasher's car registration number to track him down.
Posted by Cate at 09:09 AM | Comments (3)
May 10, 2005
I hate the news sometimes
This story makes me so sick to my stomach. Children are supposed to feel safe around their parents. I hope that this son of a bitch fries. No, I hope he gets sent to jail and the inmates take care of him.
Those poor little girls.
Dad to Be Charged in Mother's Day Murders (link via FoxNews)
•Two Girls Found Slain in Northern Ill. Park
ZION, Ill. — The attorney for Illinois announced charges would be filed against a man for killing his 8-year-old daughter and her 9-year-old best friend.
Jerry Hobbs, who has an extensive criminal history and was released from a Texas jail just last month, stabbed his daughter, Laura Hobbs, and her schoolmate, Krystal Tobias, repeatedly in the neck in park where their bodies were found Monday morning, state attorney Mike Waller said.
The girls were both reported missing Sunday night, having failed to come home from a day of riding bikes and playing outside.
"We are filing two counts of first-degree murder against Jerry Branton Hobbs III of Zion," Waller said.
Hobbs was due in court for a bond hearing Wednesday morning.
The disovery of the girls' bodies just four blocks from their school early Monday morning unnerved the tiny city near the Wisconsin border. The county coroner's office told FOX News the girls had been stabbed multiple times in the throat and beaten in the head.
Posted by Cate at 06:11 PM | Comments (8)
April 28, 2005
Exploding Toads
I don't think I would be drinking this water either!
Exploding Toads Puzzle Scientists
BERLIN (AP) More than 1,000 toads have puffed up and exploded in a Hamburg pond in recent weeks, and scientists still have no explanation for what's causing the combustion, an official said Wednesday.
Both the pond's water and body parts of the toads have been tested, but scientists have been unable to find a bacteria or virus that would cause the toads to swell up and pop, said Janne Kloepper, of the Hamburg-based Institute for Hygiene and the Environment.
"It's absolutely strange," she said. "We have a really unique story here in Hamburg. This phenomenon really doesn't seem to have appeared anywhere before."
The toads at a pond in the upscale neighborhood of Altona have been blowing up since the beginning of the month, filling up like balloons until their stomachs suddenly burst.
"It looks like a scene from a science-fiction movie," Werner Schmolnik, the head of a local environment group, told the Hamburger Abendblatt daily. "The bloated animals suffer for several minutes before they finally die."
Biologists have come up with several theories, but Kloepper said that most have been ruled out.
The pond's water quality is no better or worse than other bodies of water in Hamburg, the toads did not appear to have a disease, and a laboratory in Berlin has ruled out the possibility that it is a fungus that made its way from South America, she said.
She said that tests will continue. In the meantime, city residents have been warned to stay away from the pond.
Posted by Cate at 07:28 AM | Comments (4)
April 27, 2005
Some flesh in your drinking water?
Oh my Gwad - this is just disgusting.
Flesh Chunks Found in Iowa Water Lines
CARROLL, Iowa (AP) -- City officials are perplexed over the discovery of mysterious chunks of flesh that have been clogging up city water lines. A month ago, city officials sent a hunk of meaty-fatty tissue
to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for identification.
As they wait for those results, three similar chunks of fleshy material were found on Thursday in another water main during routine flushing, Public Works Director Randy Krauel said.
A city worker discovered the blockage when a diffuser on a fire hydrant became clogged, Krauel said.
Additional flushing removed two other chunks from water mains, he said.
"Again, we're really not sure what it is," he said. "The pieces kind of looked like the first one. There was no hair and no real bone. There were varying degrees of the substance, whatever it is."
He speculated that the flesh likely belonged to an animal that crawled into a water main somewhere.
The new chunks also were sent to a state lab for identification.
Krauel said drinking water was not affected by the blockages and is safe to drink.
Chlorine levels have been temporarily increased as a precaution, he said.
Posted by Cate at 08:55 AM | Comments (5)
March 17, 2005
Prison Van Hijacked
Gee - this is going on not too far from me. Our local paper aslo has a blurb about it here.
Posted by Cate at 01:25 PM | Comments (4)
Love is in the mail?
Now - this made me giggle this morning -
Sex Doll Sparks Bomb Alert in Berlin
BERLIN (Reuters) - A blow-up sex doll sparked a bomb alert in a German post office after it started to vibrate inside a package awaiting delivery, police said Wednesday.
"Workers were unsettled when it began vibrating and made strange noises," a spokesman for police in the eastern city of Chemnitz said. "They were worried the package might be a bomb."
Officers brought the sender to the scene and discovered the source of alarm was an electrical device inside a life-size female sex doll. The man told police he had wanted to return the doll because it kept turning itself on at the wrong moment.
Order was restored after the sender removed the doll's batteries so the defective product could be returned.
Posted by Cate at 09:07 AM | Comments (1)
March 11, 2005
One photo
Here's the one stinkin' photo that turned out. It's the crew from this morning. I can't believe I forgot to get my picture taken with Candy yesterday. DUH! Imagine my living room with two more people, another chair and my two girls.
Yeah - it was a tight fit. But, all in all, totally worth it! Thanks guys!
UPDATE - That is NOT me. This is a photo of Sasha - the producer. Isn't she adorable?
Posted by Cate at 10:47 AM | Comments (8)
March 10, 2005
DUH!
I was so nervous, I forgot to mention that I was interviewed by Candy Crowley. She was SO incredibly nice and made me feel quite relaxed. I couldn't believe all the stuff the guys had to do in my house. They will be back here tomorrow morning by 7am. I will be getting up SO early tomorrow.
Off to make dinner. Ciao!
Posted by Cate at 05:19 PM | Comments (5)
Update on news
Ok - here's my exciting news..
I'm being interviewed by CNN! How exciting! I was contacted a few days ago and, to make a long story short, they are here RIGHT NOW, filming me. I am feeling a little nervous and weird about it but I am having a great time and everyone has been so very nice. I can't wait to see this air - I think sometime next week. I just realized that I make tons of typos when people watch me type. Does anyone else have that happen to them?
Other than that - my day has been pretty insane. I was cleaning like a freak and the house still looks like a mess! Of course, the crew rearranged some of my furniture and I've found that dust can appear under my couch. EW! How embarrassing!
They also followed me to the bus stop when Youngestand I picked up Eldest. She looked a little surprised to see the camera and the bus driver was concerned. When I explained that the cameraman was not going to film the other children or the bus, she seemed to relax about it. It was cold as hell at the bus stop - very windy. Youngestwas enjoying the camera and was hamming it up big time. I don't think that she is shy at all. I think I might be in trouble with her in the future.
Daisy - I will answer your five questions later. I did get them earlier this morning. I've got to run for now.
So - what do you all think about my surprise?
Posted by Cate at 04:13 PM | Comments (22)
March 01, 2005
I won!
I just got a phone call from my local library. I won a raffle. Our library now offers self checkout for library books. I love using it. Since it's new, the library was running a raffle for each tim you used the self checkout, you were able to fill out an entry form. They picked my name today. Yippie! I won a couple books that I will pick up today. How fun is that?
Posted by Cate at 01:49 PM | Comments (2)
February 18, 2005
Congratulations!
TurtleMama had her baby tonight! Hooray!
Posted by Cate at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2005
Closed comments
Due to extreme freaks leaving insane comments on my blog entry regarding Governor Codey and Craig Carton, I am forced to close comments. Someone couldn't play nice and had to ruin it for all the other people who were commenting. I was actually enjoying the debate.
Moron.
Posted by Cate at 04:21 PM | Comments (4)
February 06, 2005
Missing Dad
This article from my local newspaper made me cry. It's a great piece, very much worth the read for anyone who has lost a parent.
Some wounds take years to heal
(written by Bobbie Seidel published in the Asbury Park Press 02/5/05)
I was getting into my car outside a bookstore last week when I saw them: a woman in her late 40s or early 50s and an elderly man walking very slowly toward their car.
He leaned into her, his hand gripping her arm for support as his bent body shuffled forward, small step by small step.
My heart kind of raced, and I thought: I'd give anything to have Dad here so I could walk beside him that way again.
I realized I had spoken out loud and tears were running down my face.
These past two months have been particularly filled with longing — there's no other word for it — for my father's presence, perhaps because December marked two years since he died. Such dates are so hard.
I've rarely spoken about that fierce longing for the sight and sound of him, which arises at unexpected moments, as impossible to ignore as a howling dog.
The few times I have spoken about my grief, it's mostly been with my friend Andrea, who's been experiencing her own grief after losing her mother, sister and brother-in-law, all in a fairly short time. It's as though we speak a language all our own, one that tries but fails to define a sadness unlike any other.
Psychologists say it takes about five years to get through the stages of mourning — until we reach acceptance — whether it's over the death of a loved one or the end of a long marriage.
And time, the saying goes, heals all wounds.
In many ways, all of that is true.
I no longer get the crazy feeling that it's all a dream, that when I wake up in the morning, Dad will be alive. And there are days when I'm so busy I don't think of him until that moment just before sleep, when silence, exhaustion and darkness can set the mind roaming.
But one recent day was very bad.
I'm damn independent, capable of researching any topic, then making my own, sometimes foolhardy, decisions. But there I was, so frustrated because I couldn't talk to Dad about the car repairs or how to get through to my son on something important.
Logically, I knew this was because old habits are hard to break; I spent a lifetime relying on Dad's common-sense wisdom. I knew, too, this was part of moving through those "stages."
But I wanted to hear his voice so badly that I thought perhaps there was something wrong with me, so I phoned my daughter and asked: Do you think about Grandpa? Do you miss him?
She was both startled and serious as she answered: Of course! A lot.
Odd, I thought. She and I are so close, yet we don't speak about Dad. We've each been mourning him alone, keeping it inside.
Silence isn't golden when it comes to grief; it's deadly. Grief is a virus that sickens the spirit; keeping quiet is a false cure.
The antidote is accepting that grief is part of life and loving, and one day, that fierce, painful longing will be faint and tolerable.
Even then, the sight of someone who reminds us of our loved one will set our heart racing. But that's OK, too, because such memory is the way we honor those we love.
Posted by Cate at 10:56 AM | Comments (4)
January 27, 2005
I'm Gonna Knock You Out.
I've got to say that, for once, I am inclined to agree with the governor. Good for him for sticking up for his wife. I seriously doubt that Codey was going to beat up Craig Carton.
N.J. governor confronts DJ over comments
TRENTON, N.J. -- Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey said Wednesday he threatened to take a radio show host outside after the shock jock made dismissive comments about postpartum depression, an ailment that has afflicted first lady Mary Jo Codey.
Codey said NJ 101.5 should take action against the talk show host, Craig Carton, and defended Tuesday's aggressive rebuke at the station's Ewing Township studios.
"Somebody made disparaging remarks about my wife. I defended my wife like any man or husband would," Codey said. "I have a right to defend my family, and I will."
Codey denied an account in The Star-Ledger of Newark that said he told Carton during the altercation: "I wish I weren't governor, I'd take you out."
"I didn't say I would take him out," Codey said. "I said I would take him outside. When you're Irish you take them outside, not out."
According to the account from a Star-Ledger reporter who witnessed the confrontation, Carton responded: "That's real professional. You want to fight?"
Codey and Carton then shouted at each other before Carton left the station and Codey went on to appear for his monthly "Ask the Governor" call-in show.
Codey said he was upset about remarks in Carton's "Jersey Guys" show on Monday.
According to a partial transcript the governor's office said it received from a source, Carton said: "What Gov. Codey ought to do is approve the use of medical marijuana so women can have a joint and relax instead of putting their babies in a microwave. Then all they want to do is cook Doritos. Women who claim they suffer from this postpartum depression ... they must be crazy in the first place."
Citing station policy, program director Eric Johnson declined to release a tape or transcript of the show to The Associated Press.
The station on Wednesday posted a statement on its Web site saying it "is surprised and disappointed the Acting-Governor would propose violence as the solution to his dispute with one of our program hosts. Talk show hosts are, by nature, controversial. While we may not personally agree with their opinions, we defend their right to express them without the threat of physical harm."
On his show Wednesday, Carton said Codey had threatened to kill him and added that he would wage an on-air campaign to remove the acting governor from office unless he received an apology. He called Codey "an out-of-control, arrogant man."
"If I do not get an apology from him, and he owes me one, he will wind up the same way (former Gov. James) McGreevey did, which is out of office, based on the power of this show," Carton said.
Codey's office declined to respond to Carton's demand. "The governor is not dignifying the comments made on today's show with any further comments," said spokeswoman Kelley Heck.
Mary Jo Codey has publicly described her battle with depression and talked about the dark days after their first son was born 20 years ago -- times when she thought of drowning her child or placing him in a microwave oven. She said she knew she would hurt herself first.
Postpartum depression afflicts about 2 percent of women who give birth.
The acting governor has been a longtime advocate for improved care for the mentally ill and once worked undercover at a state psychiatric hospital to gather information to support his reform efforts.
Codey said his wife was upset by Carton's remarks. But he also described her resiliency: "My wife has survived mental illness, being in a coma for eight days, breast cancer, me at times, so I think she can survive this person."
Posted by Cate at 08:21 AM | Comments (18)
January 10, 2005
Four CBS Employees Ousted for 'Memogate'
Gee - this was SUCH a surprise. [/sarcasm]
(link via FoxNews)
(CBS also has a detailed story on their news page ::link::)
NEW YORK — Four CBS News employees, including three executives, have been let go for their role in preparing and reporting the controversial "60 Minutes" story about President Bush’s National Guard service before last year’s elections, according to CBS.
Longtime CBS News anchor Dan Rather already announced his departure late last year. His last show will be in March.
The move came along with the release of the final report from an independent investigation panel assigned to look into what happened with the CBS Bush National Guard story.
Asked to resign were Senior Vice President Betsy West, who supervised CBS News primetime programs; "60 Minutes Wednesday" Executive Producer Josh Howard; Howard's deputy, Senior Broadcast Producer Mary Murphy. The producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, was terminated.
In its report, the panel concluded that the network news organization failed to follow basic journalistic principles in preparing, reporting and following the story.
Posted by Cate at 10:34 AM | Comments (1)
January 05, 2005
Grande Confessions?
It's hard to get to church on Sundays. Would you go if there was a Starbucks kiosk set up in the church? (link).
Turns out - attendance has doubled for Grace Capital Church in Pembroke, NH since the kiosk opened in July. True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo, N.Y., the spot where the choir once sang now sells Subway sandwiches. And in more than a few picturesque meeting houses, hymns and prayers ascend through a steeple that doubles as a leased-out cellphone tower.
[...]
But short-term convenience and growth may come at the expense of church ideals, says Barry Harvey, professor of contemporary theology at Baylor University in Houston. In his view, spirituality has been "commodified" in the past quarter-century, in part due to "church shopping" and a hot market for religious merchandise. From there, he says, "It's just one more step to say, 'What's the big deal about bringing in a McDonald's?' "
[...]
As churches "come to resemble malls," says Dr. Harvey, "they no longer become communities that try to live differently from the rest of the world and model how life is supposed to be lived...(emphasis mine) We should meet [others] in a marketplace, but then welcome them into a community that says there are deeper ways of relating."
[...]
"In Protestant theology, the church building holds less sanctity than it does in Catholicism, since Protestants don't regard it as a necessity in the transmission of God's grace. Nevertheless, just as some Protestants cheer the practical value of sharing their space with business, others resist, citing equally pragmatic concerns.
"It's not just about the secular invading the sacred. It's about the formation of disciples and how [retail business] affects it," says the Rev. Gary Greene, pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church in Merrimac, Mass. "We tell new members to give a portion of their income, but the reality would be that we have coffee hour sponsored by Starbucks, and people love it and it's a real cash generator.... What we're saying is that being a member of a community doesn't require anything of you, so it doesn't mean anything."
Yet where Starbucks flows after worship, the pastor tells a different story. Bonanno says his congregation tithes to support its own ministries. The approximately $500 raised at the coffee bar each month has become extra cash for donation to such causes as the Salvation Army, a local food pantry, and new churches."
Maybe I should email this to my pastor. Hmm...
Posted by Cate at 08:53 AM | Comments (4)
January 04, 2005
Heard about this on the radio
Courtsey of Jim Gearhart.
Posted by Cate at 07:20 AM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2004
Breaking News!
(via The Onion)
Lawyers Separate Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen in 17-Hour Procedure
HOLLYWOOD—Attorneys representing Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen separated the career-conjoined twins in a harrowing, 17-hour procedure Monday. "Because they lived symbiotically for so many years, the most difficult task was methodically detaching each of their shared credits," said Divorah Kessler, one of the heroic lawyers on the five-person team. "After carefully removing the ampersand between their names and replacing it with a comma, we'll attempt to construct an individual persona for each girl." Lawyers on both sides list the girls' chances for solo-career survival as "fair."
Posted by Cate at 11:11 AM | Comments (2)
Snake in the Box
CLIFTON, N.J. - The story of Paco the Python is a serpentine tale of a pet snake accidentally shipped from Missouri to New Jersey in a box with a DVD player being sent for repairs. (link)
Paco is currently basking in an 85-degree cage at an NJ Pets store in Clifton; he'll be shipped back home to Missouri in temperature-controlled comfort.
Sheila Himmerick, who had bought Paco as a gift for her teenage son, Rusty, was thrilled to find out he was alive. She said pythons don't like the cold.
Himmerick and 17-year-old son were at home in Jefferson City, Missouri, and couldn't get their get their new DVD player to work. They called the maker, Samsung, and shipped the player to the company's return center in Secaucus, New Jersey late last month.
Paco, a three-foot, four-pound ball python with brown and yellow markings, apparently slithered into the box, and hid beneath the foam peanuts the DVD player was packed in.
Himmerick got a call from Samsung's New Jersey repair shop, CVE Incorporated. She said someone there asked whether that was her snake in the DVD box, and was that her way of expressing her customer dissatisfaction.
A woman who answered the phone at CVE said the company had no comment on the incident.
Secaucus Town Animal Warden Kevin Kessler, who was called to handle the python, said Paco was a bit listless but unharmed, and that no charges were filed. Kessler said "things like this do happen."
Does this mean that a 3ft ball python was just "slithering around" the house? Eeek!
Posted by Cate at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2004
More Money or More Sex?
So - what would you choose?
Berlin - Germans prefer money to sex, a new survey for Playboy magazine shows. (link)
Asked whether next year they would prefer more money, more regular sex or extra free time, 62 percent of the 1,000 Germans polled opted for cash, compared with just six percent choosing sex. Twenty-six percent plumped for free time.
The full survey results will be published Wednesday in the German edition of Playboy for January.
Posted by Cate at 03:53 PM | Comments (6)
Can you even begin to imagine?
Would you want to be Sc*ott Pet*erson's parents?
Posted by Cate at 02:39 PM | Comments (3)
December 06, 2004
Black Widow Strikes Again
'Black Widow' out-eats field to win meatball-eating contest
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Somewhere in the world there may be someone who can eat more food in less time than Sonya Thomas, but don't bet your next meal on it.
Thomas, known in uber-eating circles as "The Black Widow," proved her mettle once again Saturday at the Tropicana, dominating the competition in what was billed as the World Meatball Eating Championships.
Facing a field that included several men who could have fit the 105-pound Thomas into one of their pant legs, she finished off 89 meatballs in 12 minutes, or about one meatball shy of six pounds. The next closest competitor was nearly a pound behind.
Were that not impressive enough, this should strike fear into the hearts and stomachs of her future foes: guys, she could have eaten more.
"I wasn't that full," Thomas said after receiving the $2,500 winner's check. "I had room for more. It was the swallowing that was the hard part."
Read the rest of this story here.
Posted by Cate at 07:08 AM | Comments (2)
November 03, 2004
Speech
Just heard Kerry's speech - very well spoken.
Posted by Cate at 02:27 PM | Comments (4)
Concession
According to Fox News, Kerry called Bush to concede.
It's over.
Thank goodness it's finally over.
(edited to add Yahoo link)
Posted by Cate at 11:07 AM | Comments (3)
November 02, 2004
Pathetic
Just heard on the news that 30 GOP "Get Out The Vote" vehicles in Wisconsin had their tires slashed.
People suck.
Posted by Cate at 02:43 PM | Comments (6)
October 11, 2004
They have outdone themselves
Thanks once again to the combined effort of Gregg & Evan Spiridellis, they have put up yet another parody of Bush and Kerry. There's even a brief cameo featuring Jim McGreevey - NJ's current governor. Go on, check out JibJab and click on "Good To Be In DC" or "This Land".
Trust me. It's funny.
Posted by Cate at 11:06 PM | Comments (1)
September 16, 2004
Don't drink and drive
Or you too can have your <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/tgoldmug1.html"><b>mug shot</b></a> spread across the Internet.
<img alt="tg1.BMP" src="http://www.katespot.com/archives/tg1.BMP" width="263" height="325" border="0" />
<i>Actress Tracey Gold, who starred in TV's "Growing Pains" and famously went public with her anorexia battle, was arrested in September 2004 for drunk driving after rolling her SUV--carrying her husband and three young boys--down a California freeway embankment. The 35-year-old Gold, pictured below in a Ventura County Sheriff's Office mug shot, was busted by California Highway Patrol officers and charged with a felony count of driving under the influence causing injury. According to a CHP spokesman, Gold was driving a 2001 GMC Yukon on Route 118 at about 11:51 PM on September 3 when she lost control of the vehicle. While Gold's husband and two of her sons (ages five and four months) were not seriously injured, the actress's oldest child, 7-year-old Sage, suffered a broken clavicle and a head laceration. After CHP officers administered sobriety tests, Gold was arrested on the DUI charge. </i>
What a winner.
Posted by Cate at 07:31 AM | Comments (6)
September 01, 2004
Zell Miller
I wonder - does holy ****ing **** cover how incredible his speech was?
Posted by Cate at 10:19 PM | Comments (6)
August 30, 2004
RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!
I adore Rudy Giuliani. WHat an awesome speech. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,130670,00.html">Read the transcript</a>.
Posted by Cate at 11:26 PM | Comments (3)
August 13, 2004
RIP Julia
You rocked <a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20040813/ap_on_en_tv/obit_child">Julia</a> and you were one helluva chef. You will be missed.
Posted by Cate at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)
Bye Jimmy
So - he's out.. of office that is...
He was a crappy governor. It has nothing to do with him being gay. He only outed himself because he was going to be outed in the lawsuit that's going to be filed by Golan Cipel. People being interviewed on the television are saying that he shouldn't have resigned because he was gay. PEOPLE! That's NOT why he resigned. Can you say <a href="http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1025754,00.html">scandal</a>? Read about the "other man" <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1092389750243270.xml">here</a>. Plus, he is NOT leaving office until November just so the Dems can keep control.
Thanks a lot Jimmy.
Posted by Cate at 10:02 AM | Comments (4)
Strange
According to Barista, as of 545pm, the <a href="http://www.baristanet.com/barista/2004/08/the_state_is_al.html"target=_blank>State of NJ homepage has not been updated</a> with the news of Gov. McGreevey's resignation. Well, here it is at 1215am and it's <a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/gov.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/gov.php','popup','width=756,height=584,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><i>still</i> not updated</a>.
Do you think that the governor wants to hear from us? I like <a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/gov1.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/gov1.php','popup','width=230,height=242,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">the link</a> for email on the sidebar of the state homepage. Duh.
Posted by Cate at 12:20 AM | Comments (2)
August 12, 2004
What the..??
"My truth is that I am a gay American."
Oh my gawd - he's gay and he stepped out on his wife... lordy
Posted by Cate at 04:31 PM | Comments (4)
HOLY ****
<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,128836,00.html">Looks like Gov. McCheesey might be stepping down due to "personal" issues!!! </a>Whoa!
<i>::update::</i>
It's confirmed that he will resign <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NJ_GOVERNOR?SITE=PAAPA&SECTION=HOME"target=_blank>here</a> and <a href="http://www.nj.com"target=_blank>here</a>. Ohhh man - what a mess. He's being sued for sexual harrassment - by a male aide, Golan Cipel - you can read about it <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5686618/"target=_blank>here</a>.
Posted by Cate at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2004
I can't stand
looking at Sco*tt Peter*son's smirking face. Ugh - I want to vomit.
Posted by Cate at 10:47 PM | Comments (5)
August 06, 2004
I'm Rick James, bitch!
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=495&u=/ap/20040806/ap_en_mu/obit_james_2&printer=1">According to Drudge, Rick James is dead</a>. RIP SuperFreak
Posted by Cate at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2004
Georgia Man's Pants Explode
Can you say <b>DUH</b>???? What a ****head.
A Georgia man's experience (<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127839,00.html"target=_blank>link</a>) only goes to prove what most people take as common sense: Don't try to mix dangerous chemicals in your pants.
According to newspaper reports, three Walker County social workers were visiting Daniel Gabriel Doyle, 39, of LaFayette, last Tuesday. As he sat in their car filling out paperwork, his pants exploded.
"He kept fiddling with his front right pants pocket," Patrick Stanfield, commander of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, told the Walker County Messenger. "All of a sudden, a loud bang happened, and fire shot from his pocket. It damaged the inside of the state vehicle and burned clothing on the case workers."
Apparently, Doyle had combined red phosphorus (search) and iodine (search), two chemicals used to make methamphetamine, in a film canister. He then stuck the canister in his pocket when the social workers showed up.
"He didn't know what he was doing, and it started boiling on his leg," Stanfield said.
The reaction of the two chemicals heats up to about 278 degrees Fahrenheit before exploding, according to the Messenger.
Posted by Cate at 09:48 AM | Comments (2)
July 30, 2004
Link
While watching Fox and Friends this morning, I heard the address of a website dedicated to <a href="http://www.findlori.com/"target=_blank>Lori Hacking</a> and the hopes of finding her. This story, as well as <a href="http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1015250,00.html"target=_blank>this story</a> about a 16 year old girl (who was missing and now found - dead) makes me want to implant some form of <a href="http://www.lojack.com/"target=_blank>LoJack</a> on the girls.
Posted by Cate at 08:36 AM | Comments (1)
July 26, 2004
Disgusting
P and I saw <a href="http://store.yahoo.com/ppfastore/ihadabt.html"target=_blank>this shirt</a> on <a href="http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:store.yahoo.com/ppfastore/ihadabt.html"target=_blank>Drudge</a>. It says "I had an abortion" on the front of it. Planned Parenthood is selling it for $15. The text description for the shirt is this:
<center><i>
They have finally arrived!
Planned Parenthood is proud to offer yet another t-shirt in our new social fashion line: "I Had an Abortion" fitted T-shirts are now available. These soft and comfortable fitted tees assert a powerful message in support of women's rights.
</i></center>
Like *I'd* brag about it. WHY would you want to brag (or even advertise) that you had an abortion?
Posted by Cate at 05:23 PM | Comments (6)
July 20, 2004
Funny link
I got <a href="http://www.jibjab.com/">this link</a> from my sis in law. Check it out and make sure your speakers are turned up.
Posted by Cate at 11:16 PM | Comments (1)
July 10, 2004
::giggle::
I keep my political views off my blog but this link (posted by Geoffrey DogSnot Diaries) made P and I crack up. I had to share it.
Posted by Cate at 12:37 AM | Comments (1)
June 24, 2004
Check this out
I found this image from Yahoo.
<img alt="bd" src="http://www.katespot.com/archives/bellydancer.jpg" width="304" height="450" border="0" />
Lebanese belly dancer Mousbah Baalbaki performs at a night club in downtown Beirut May 1, 2004. Mousbah, Lebanon's celebrated male belly dancer, performs his sometimes risque show to the cheers and whistles of an entranced audience in a downtown Beirut nightclub. (Jamal Saidi/Reuters)
Posted by Cate at 11:40 PM | Comments (2)
June 23, 2004
Woman Settles 'Toilet Phobia' Lawsuit
(via <a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=1&u=/nm/20040622/od_nm/odd_safrica_toilet_dc">Yahoo</a>)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African woman has settled a lawsuit in which she claimed to have developed a phobia about toilets after falling off one at a hotel.
Antonia Hart, 59, sued the Sun International hotel chain following the August 2003 incident, asking for 91,000 rand ($14,000) for pain, injury, medical treatment and "loss of amenities," the South African Press Agency (SAPA) reported.
Hart's lawyers had accused the hotel of negligence, saying their client <b>toppled off the toilet when it suddenly broke "whilst in normal use for the purposes for which it was installed," SAPA quoted court papers as saying. </b>
(<i>emphasis mine</i>)
Sun International's lawyers conceded that the toilet had broken, but said Hart's husband had signed a liability waiver upon checking in.
"The matter was settled between the parties and the magistrate was informed on Monday that an agreement had been reached and that the lawsuit would not proceed," SAPA said.
God - talk about a breach of trust! Can you imagine being all settled in on the john, all comfortable with your newspaper/magazine, taking a deep breath and suddenly BAM! You fall on your ass when the toilet breaks. Now, I am not one for frivolous lawsuits but I think I might have sued the hotel if a toilet <i>broke</i> under my ass. I have a fat ass but I know it doesn't break toilets! I think that a working (and sturdy) toilet is not an unreasonable expectation to have when one checks into a hotel. Imagine what this settlement would have been if it was in America.
Millions.
Posted by Cate at 09:44 AM | Comments (1)
June 11, 2004
Amazing Grace
It always makes me cry.
Posted by Cate at 12:42 PM | Comments (2)
President Reagan
I am watching the news and the footage of former President Reagan.
They just showed Mrs. Reagan walking into the Rotunda on the arm of a General. She looked so small, so tiny. When the camera zoomed in on her face, I could see the pain and sorrow in her eyes. I couldn't help but cry. He ecsorted her to the coffin then stepped back. She touched the coffin and was quietly speaking to it. She leaned down and very gently kissed the flag that was draped on top. I just burst into tears.
This is just so sad. It's breaking my heart to watch. But, I will watch. I will pray for the Reagan family.
Posted by Cate at 10:21 AM | Comments (2)
May 28, 2004
WHOA!
What the hell did Celine do to herself?? She looks SO old!
<a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/dion.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/dion.php','popup','width=286,height=409,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">Click to open at your own risk</a>.
Posted by Cate at 01:46 PM | Comments (5)
Just plain GROSS!
(link via yahoo
Man Commits Suicide After Sex with Hen
LUSAKA (Reuters) - A 50-year-old Zambian man has hanged himself after his wife found him having sex with a hen, police said Friday.
The woman caught him in the act when she rushed into their house to investigate a noise.
"He attempted to kill her but she managed to escape," a police spokesman said.
The man from the town of Chongwe, about 50 km (30 miles) east of Lusaka, killed himself after being admonished by other villagers.
The hen was slaughtered after the incident.
You know.. I was going to make a few jokes about this but really.. why bother?
Posted by Cate at 01:31 PM | Comments (3)
May 24, 2004
Made the paper!
Remember when I <a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/004992.php"target=_blank>blogged about being interviewed because I am a Jersey mom/blogger?</a>
It made the paper - the <a href="http://www.nj.com/living/ledger/index.ssf?/base/living-2/1085201644142590.xml">Star Ledger</a>
I'm famous! Well, famous in an anonymous kind of way...lol
Thanks Carrie!
Parenting out loud: Moms -- and some dads -- are using weblogs to chronicle their day to day lives
Saturday, May 22, 2004
BY CARRIE STETLER
Star-Ledger Staff
PARENTS WHO BLOG have no shame. They'll tell the world about their backtalking kids, apoplectic toddlers and surprise encounters with poo. Dads occasionally curse. Moms discuss sex. Some post entries while drunk.
Oh sure, there are plenty of parent bloggers sharing cake recipes and detailed accounts of soccer practice (even the most jaded sites occasionally include these).
But the best aren't so chipper. Once the domain of angsty teens, an increasing number of blogs (short for "Web logs" or online journals) are authored by angsty parents.
Their tales of drudgery and domestic turmoil, filled with comic anecdotes and clever graphics, explore the place where identity ends and parenthood begins (or vice versa). Many are updated every day, becoming habit-forming reads.
In a sense, the new breed of blogs was inevitable.
"The people that pioneered this were steeped in the Internet...and they're having kids," says Alan Graham, new dad, retired dot-commer and co-editor of the book "Never Threaten to Eat Your Co-Workers: Best of Blogs."
For "early-adapter geeks," as Graham calls them, it's natural to chronicle the journey into parenthood online.
But mainstream parents are also blogging. Scrapbookish blogs, written for extended family and filled with photos for the grandparents in Topeka to view, have been multiplying on Lycos and America Online, say spokesmen from those companies.
"Pregnancy blogs are also a trend," says Michael Sikillian, marketing manager for Lycos Web Publishing. "The thing I think that's driving it is digital cameras. The blog is the ideal place to upload them."
Since America Online launched AOL Journal, its blogging device, eight months ago, mom blogs account for 11 percent of its 270,000 blogs. (Only a handful of dads keep family-oriented blogs).
"In the old days, we had knitting circles, now we have blogging circles," said Bill Schreiner, AOL's vice-president of community relations."
Blogging, he said, has turned out to be an ideal way to record family life.
"Stories about children are best told over time," said Schreiner. "They're uniquely suited to blogging."
Blogs are also a way for like-minded parents to bond. Readers post comments on favorite blogs and often create blogs of their own.
"You read something, you identify with it, and then you want to share part of your own experience," says Graham.
Although blogs are more popular among teens and singles, parents use them differently, says Biz Stone, a blogging expert at Google, where there are 1.5 million users on "Blogger."
"Younger bloggers will use blogs almost as an instant messaging platform. Their posts are sort of meaningless to anyone who isn't in that clique, but older people are really trying to share knowledge and information," said Stone.
The information, they seek, however, isn't from experts. For parents barraged with media advice and one-dimensional images of mom and dad, blogs are a place to find authentic families whose lives are unruly as their own.
"Parenting is so consuming, so complex, and national magazines and TV simplify it," says Lizbeth Finn-Arnold, an Aberdeen mom whose blog is titled "Mom and Pop Culture" (http://travelswithlizbeth.typepad.com). "As we're seeing with blogs, there's a lot more going on under the surface."
Arnold, who also edits an online magazine called The Philosophical Mom, blogs her political views, her movie picks, and stories about her kids -- not all of them flattering.
In a recent entry, she wrote, "My daughter has barged in...demanding something or other and then telling me 'you stink,' when I didn't immediately get her what she wanted.
"I replied, 'Excuse me, but you don't talk to your mother like that.'
"And she claimed, 'Oh, I meant it in a loving way'..."
In blogs, parents reveal things they would never utter to other parents in real life.
"There's still such pressure to have your parenting act together, especially for moms, and if you take a risk and admit that you're not always perfect, sometimes, in real life, you might live to regret telling a story to someone who wasn't supportive, then you have to live with these people forever more. Online, you can just change your user name," says Ann Douglas, author of "The Mother Of all Baby Books."
The blogger behind "Kate Spot" (www.katespot.com), a Jersey mom and Brownie troop leader, didn't want her last name used for this story because she feared other Brownie moms might read her blog.
"Sometimes I post funny stories," she said. "I don't put our troop number. I don't put pictures up of our girls, but I wouldn't really want them to know. I guess it's my own space. I want to keep it a little quiet."
Otherwise, Kate enjoys having an audience.
"I think blogging is a great way to network with people," she said.
And best of all, when you blog about your kids, they don't have to be there.
"You can blog at 4 a.m. You can blog when they nap, when you're nursing a baby," says Lizbeth Finn-Arnold. "You can sound professional and coherent and you can't hear someone screaming in the background."
Posted by Cate at 02:35 PM | Comments (14)
May 18, 2004
Mass Oil Spill
In *my* town!
8,300 thousand gallons of <b>kerosene and diesel fuel</b> were spilled on Rt 72, near the Garden State Parkway in Stafford Township last night around 8pm. The driver of the tanker was unhurt. The township was flushing hydrants last night and today and the NJ road department was already cleaning up the spill. The news stated that the EPA was out as well. The news also suggested that it could take days to clean it all up and months to find out the final analysis.
Great.
We have a well water. You know that water will be getting tested asap.
Posted by Cate at 11:47 AM | Comments (1)
May 13, 2004
Jimmy Kimmel
(image and text from Drudge Report)
<img alt="kimmell.jpg" src="http://www.katespot.com/archives/kimmell.jpg" width="239" height="180" border="0" />
<b><a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/kimmel1.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/kimmel1.php','popup','width=218,height=192,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">This</a></b> is what he normally looks like sans reaction.
<i>LATE NIGHT COMEDY HOST RUSHED TO HOSPITAL IN ON-AIR MEDICAL SCARE: During a live interview on ABC TV Wednesday night, the face of Jimmy Kimmel began to swell, his voice went raspy, and his eyes subsequently closed shut. Immediately after the show he was taken to a Hollywood area hospital where he was administered treatment and is said to be recovering from an undisclosed allergic reaction... </i>
Anaphylaxis is deadly. Why he waited until the end of the show to go to the hospital is beyond me.
Posted by Cate at 06:31 PM | Comments (2)
May 09, 2004
RIP
<a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040509/ap_on_en_tv/obit_king"target=_blank>Alan King</a> passed away today. He was 76.
Posted by Cate at 04:53 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2004
Pleasantville Cry-baby Coach
I was reading more about that asshole <a href="http://www.nj.com/weblogs/jersey/index.ssf?/mtlogs/njo_jerseyside/archives/2004_05.html#021769"target=_blank>coach</a> who decided, all on his very own, to have a trophy made up for a young man on his team an award for being a cry-baby and a whiner at <a href="http://www.wnbc.com/sports/3261875/detail.html"target=_blank>WNBC Sports </a>.
It seems that the asshole will be able to keep his job!
<i>
<a href="http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/atlantic/050504CRYBABYFINAL.cfm"target=_blank>PLEASANTVILLE</a> - Despite the Board of Education's vote to fire him Tuesday night, a Pleasantville Middle School teacher and basketball coach who presented a 13-year-old player with the team's "crybaby award" apparently will retain his job.
After meeting in a closed session for 21/2 hours, the board voted 5-4 to fire <b>special-education teacher</b> (highlighted by me) James Guillen, 24, who gave the boy a trophy featuring a golden figurine of a baby during a team banquet late last month.
But the board's solicitor and district Superintendent Edwin Coyle indicated that the vote was not valid and carried no weight because it was not based on the recommendation of the superintendent.
The solicitor, Damon Tyner, and Coyle said that under New Jersey law, a school board can fire a school district employee only on the recommendation of the district's superintendent. Coyle, who recommended to the board that Guillen receive a variety of other sanctions but retain his job, said he felt firing Guillen was inappropriate.
Coyle said in an interview after the meeting - which drew about 20 residents and reporters from several television stations - that he felt Guillen's actions were improper but said, "I don't know that it rises to the level of termination." </i>
What the hell? Did I miss something? Is that being a good coach? This guy is a SPECIAL EDUCATION teacher!?!?!?!?!
(this is from <a href="http://www.wnbc.com/sports/3261875/detail.html"target=_blank>wnbc</a>)
[..]
Coyle [the superintendent] said the coach had received a Crybaby Award as a teenager while playing in a summer recreation league and that it was meant to recognize athletic ability, leadership skills and vocal participation.
He wanted to honor Philo, who was a starter for most of the season on a team that won its league championship, not ridicule him, according to Coyle.
"The award was given without malice, but it did backfire," Coyle said.
Guillen later called the boy to tell him he should not be upset about the award, noting that he had received similar treatment when he was young, the father said.
But Philo said the award had caused his son to lose some of his passion for sports.
"He doesn't even want to play outside (now)," Philo told The Press of Atlantic City newspaper, adding that while his son may be short, he never backs down from a challenge. "I just keep telling him to stay on track. I keep him active. I just keep telling him, 'You're a good kid. Don't back down."'
Whether the boy suffers permanent harm from the humiliation depends on how strong he is emotionally and how much his friends, family and teammates support him, Popkin said.
Guillen, who makes $1,846 a year as coach, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Coyle, who spoke to him Tuesday, said Guillen was feeling "a lot of stress."
"He thought he was doing something in a positive way," Coyle said.
What an evil bastard. I think I would have smacked that coach down on the spot. On. The. Spot.
Posted by Cate at 11:55 AM | Comments (4)
May 03, 2004
Well?
Did you buy yours? I bought mine this morning from a very lovely older gentleman. He thanked me and handed me <a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/poppy.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/poppy.php','popup','width=256,height=247,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">this poppy</a>. I said "No sir, thank <i>you</i>." He just smiled very proudly and I wished him a very good morning and walked away.
Posted by Cate at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2004
Statue Of Liberty
I am so excited about this! P and I will be bringing the girls to see her.
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040330/ap_on_re_us/statue_of_liberty_3">NEW YORK - The Statue of Liberty, closed immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will reopen to the public this summer, officials said Tuesday</a>.
Pledges of $7 million in donations, including a $100,000 gift from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will finance upgrades that were necessary at the national monument before it could be reopened.
<a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/thumb.ny11403301401.statue_of_liberty_ny1141.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/thumb.ny11403301401.statue_of_liberty_ny1141.php','popup','width=264,height=410,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">Currently, tourists can visit Liberty Island but are not allowed inside the 151-foot statue in New York Harbor.</a>
"Safety of our citizens and preservation of the statue are our main goals," said Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton, acknowledging that the 118-year-old statue was "an attractive terrorist target."
The billionaire mayor, who joined Norton at a news conference on the island, said he was "proud to have played such a small role" in getting the statue available to the public once again.
According to Norton, an examination of the national monument revealed potential for fire problems and a lack of exits. Screening procedures, much like those at airports, and a reservation system to reduce long lines will be implemented once the monument reopens in late July, Norton said.
She said after the upgrades are completed, the public will be allowed to climb the 354 steps to the statue's crown, or observation deck.
The island was closed for 100 days after Sept. 11, 2001. Airport-type metal detectors were installed to screen visitors boarding the ferry from lower Manhattan before the island was reopened in December 2001. But the statue itself has remained closed.
Since the terrorist attacks, officials have said the number of visitors to Liberty Island has dropped by 40 percent. Still, more than 4 million people have visited since then. The statue had undergone a major restoration for its 100th birthday in 1986.
The upgrade project is being overseen by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
Posted by Cate at 12:39 PM | Comments (2)
March 24, 2004
Drugs are bad, mmmkay?
(link via <a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=757&e=10&u=/ap/20040323/ap_on_re_us/kindergartner_marijuana">Yahoo</a>)
MIAMI - A 5-year-old boy took a bag of marijuana to school and was sprinkling it over a friend's lasagna like oregano when a monitor intervened, police said.
The lasagna was confiscated before the other boy had a chance to eat it Monday in the cafeteria at Gratigny Elementary School.
Police said it was unclear whether the kindergartner even knew what he was carrying, although he tried to hide the bag when the monitor approached.
The boy "may have said it was oregano," said Mayco Villafana, spokesman for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Police and child welfare authorities were investigating the boy's family. "The focus is on the child's environment and what issues could have led to a child having a bag of marijuana in school," Villafana said. Police also were looking into whether an older friend may have asked the boy to hold the bag.
Also on Monday, authorities in Indianapolis said a 4-year-old boy took crack cocaine that police said was worth up to $10,000 to his preschool class and showed it to classmates, saying it was flour.
Teachers realized it was cocaine and called authorities.
"This could have killed these kids," said police Sgt. Roger Tuchek.
Indianapolis police said Tuesday they were still seeking the boy's parents, Kenneth Lee Green, 24, and Andrea D. Jackson, 23. Jackson was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court, court records showed. Green had been convicted of carrying an unlicensed firearm, resisting law enforcement and marijuana possession.
Posted by Cate at 09:12 AM | Comments (4)
March 09, 2004
Another celeb passes on
<a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040309/people_nm/people_pastorelli_dc_2">LOS ANGELES, California -- Robert Pastorelli, the boxer-turned-actor best known to television audiences as the house painter Eldin on long-running CBS comedy "Murphy Brown," has died, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said Tuesday</a>.
Pastorelli, 49, was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home Monday afternoon, a coroner's spokesman said. Drug paraphernalia was found on the scene, he added, and an autopsy was to be conducted Tuesday.
The New Jersey-born Pastorelli got into stage acting in the 1970s in productions like "Rebel Without A Cause" but found his greatest fame on "Murphy Brown," painting the house of the title character played by Candice Bergen but never quite finishing his ambitious artistic projects on her walls.
He briefly had his own series, "Double Rush," about the manager of a bicycle messenger service. Most recently, he was cast in the film "Be Cool," a sequel to "Get Shorty."
Syndicated TV entertainment show Access Hollywood, which first reported the actor's death, said his girlfriend died in the same home in early 1999. The two had a daughter.
Posted by Cate at 03:16 PM | Comments (8)
K-i-s-s-i-n-g
Members of parliament in the world?s most populous Muslim country have proposed an anti-pornography bill that includes a ban on kissing on the mouth in public.
?I think there must be some restrictions on such acts because it is against our traditions of decency,? said Aisyah Hamid Baidlowi, head of a parliamentary committee drafting the bill.
Heavy kissing could carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail or a 250 million rupiah ($29,000) fine. Anyone caught flashing would face similar penalties.
The bill also proposes bans on public nudity, erotic dances and sex parties, with jail terms ranging from three to 10 years. Watching such a display could lead to two years behind bars.
Indonesians have long followed a moderate version of Islam, although an emphasis on Muslim practices and identification with Islamic traditions have grown stronger in recent years.
Public displays of affection are frowned upon by many, though.
Posted by Cate at 07:48 AM | Comments (2)
February 06, 2004
Horrible
<a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040206/ap_on_re_us/abduction_filmed&cid=519&ncid=716">Body of Missing Girl Found; Man Arrested</a>
**update**
This guy is MARRIED! WITH 3 daughters! Oh my God. According to his neighbor he was "a nice guy."
Posted by Cate at 09:15 AM | Comments (9)
January 28, 2004
Papa's got a brand new cell
(snagged from the awesome <a href="http://phillipcoons.com/index.php">Philip</a>)
<img alt="jb.jpg" src="http://www.katespot.com/archives/jb.jpg" width="170" height="186" border="0" />
MIAMI (Reuters) - The "Godfather of Soul," James Brown, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of committing domestic violence, South Carolina law enforcement officials said.
(read full story <a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=638&ncid=762&e=1&u=/nm/20040128/en_nm/people