Bekkie In Wonderland

A Dragon Optical Illusion You Can Make Yourself

2012-02-23T00:12:00.000-08:00

This Is The Year Of The Dragon!

The Chinese Zodiac in 2012 is the Year Of The Dragon, so when I found this cool dragon illusion with instructions on how to make it I had to pass it on for those of you who might want to try making it. As you’ll see it’s very easy to make and a good project for children too.

Unlike our New Year holiday here in the USA the Chinese New Year may begin in January or February depending on the year it falls on. (See the Chinese Zodiac chart later in this blog.)

Before I show you the video and instructions for making the dragon illusion I found a great story from China while researching for this blog.

The first time a president from the USA visited China was President Richard Nixon in 1972. He met a smart and clever person during his visit, Mr. Yu, a well known scholar and asked him a riddle. He asked; “There are 12 items you can give to 1.2 billion Chinese and everyone gets one. Do you know what that item is?” Mr. Yu knew the answer right away of course. Do you know? See the answer * on the bottom of this blog to find out.

Now look at the Dragon Illusion video (the dragon looks at you wherever you move) and it’s freaky! When you see how it fools the eye you’ll be surprised.

Now, how to make one? Here’s the template and instructions. It doesn’t matter what color you make them, just pick what you like.

I think this is easy enough to understand and I made one myself. It worked very well and is a cool optical illusion.

If you want to see what Chinese Zodiac animal sign you are look it up on the list and do a search or follow the link on that animal for that time period. I’m a Horse and have always loved horses so it was perfect for me. Of course someone born as a Horse in another time period would have different attributes just like with our Horoscopes.

Fire Dragon

Your Zodiac Animal Sign:

If You Are Born IN or AFTER Chinese New Year's Day at That Year.

Rat (Mouse)

2/7/2008, 2/19/1996, 2/2/1984, 2/15/1972, 1/28/1960, 2/10/1948, 1/24/1936, 2/5/1924, 2/18/1912

Bull (Ox, Cow)

1/26/2009, 2/7/1997, 2/20/1985*, 2/3/1973, 2/15/1961, 1/29/1949, 2/11/1937, 1/24/1925, 2/6/1913

Tiger

2/14/2010, 1/28/1998, 2/9/1986, 1/23/1974, 2/5/1962, 2/17/1950, 1/31/1938, 2/13/1926, 1/26/1914

Rabbit (Hare)

2/03/2011, 2/16/1999, 1/29/1987, 2/11/1975, 1/26/1963, 2/6/1951, 2/19/1939, 2/2/1927, 2/14/1915

Dragon

1/23/2012, 2/5/2000, 2/17/1988, 1/31/1976, 2/13/1964, 1/27/1952, 2/8/1940, 1/23/1928, 2/3/1916

Snake

2/10/2013, 1/24/2001, 2/6/1989, 2/18/1977, 2/2/1965, 2/14/1953, 1/27/1941, 2/10/1929, 1/23/1917

Horse

1/31/2014, 2/12/2002, 1/27/1990, 2/7/1978, 1/21/1966, 2/3/1954, 2/15/1942, 1/30/1930, 2/11/1918

Goat (Ram, Sheep)

2/19/2015, 2/1/2003, 2/15/1991, 2/28/1979, 2/9/1967, 1/24/1955, 2/5/1943, 2/17/1931, 2/1/1919

Monkey

2/8/2016, 1/22/2004, 2/4/1992, 2/16/1980, 1/30/1968, 2/12/1956, 1/25/1944, 2/06/1932, 2/20/1920

Rooster (Cock, Chicken, Hen)

1/28/2017, 2/9/2005, 1/23/1993, 2/5/1981, 2/17/1969, 1/31/1957, 2/13/1945, 1/26/1933, 2/8/1921

Dog

2/16/2018, 1/29/2006, 2/10/1994, 1/25/1982, 2/6/1970, 2/18/1958, 2/2/1946, 2/14/1934, 1/28/1922

Pig (Boar)

2/5/2019, 2/18/2007, 1/31/1995, 2/13/1983, 1/27/1971, 2/8/1959, 1/22/1947, 2/04/1935, 2/16/1923

Cloud Dragon

* The answer to Nixon’s riddle? Mr. Yu answered; “Yes. They are the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals Mr. President, sir.”

Of course because those 1.2 billion Chinese in that time were all born under the 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals.

Enjoy your week! My eye is getting better slowly but surely. Now that the gas bubble in my eye is getting smaller I’m having an easier time seeing over it. It’s hard to tell how it will turn out because my doctor said it will take at least 90 days to really tell if the surgery worked. I’m trying to keep my cool as I wait but at least I can start getting out of the house again.

BTW Thanks for all your support as I went through this, I so appreciate it! Hugs!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Happy Valentines Day To You All

2012-02-14T23:39:00.001-08:00

I Give You My Heart

Hope you have the best Valentines Day ever! Take care!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Eye Will Be Offline Having Surgery

2012-01-15T17:46:00.001-08:00

I like to try to blog once a week or more but recently I haven’t been blogging on a daily basics at all. This is because I found out that I have a serious eye problem and need an operation right away due to Macular Degeneration. There are two kinds of Macular Degeneration, wet and dry. The dry form is by far the most common type and doesn’t require surgery. The wet form is much less common, but it comes on more quickly and can become severe.

Lucky me because I have the wet form and I am not a brave person.

The dry form accounts for 9 out of 10 causes of Macular Degeneration. It develops slowly and causes central vision to become dimmer or more blurry over time. It usually doesn’t cause severe vision loss unless it turns into the wet form.

The wet form accounts for only about 1 out of 10 cases of Macular Degeneration. It can cause serious vision loss within months or even weeks. People who have the wet form have the dry form first.

In either the wet or dry forms of the disease, one eye may seem to be affected while the other remains unaffected for a period of time. During that time, the healthier eye may compensate for the affected eye. However, in most cases, if one eye is affected the other eye will develop Macular Degeneration in time, too.

My eyesight has been pretty good for this ageing Hoosier. Anything up close is blurry without drug store glasses but I still have good vision when looking far away. I had no vision problems that I had to worry about and sometimes still could see close up on a “good day.”

About a month ago I noticed an eyesight change. My eyes seemed to be growing more tired while watching TV, reading, blogging, etc. I could still see just fine but questioned my vision change. Since it wasn’t something I could put my finger on, I chalked it up to my eyes getting worse with old age. Vision changes can hide a serious problem so I decided if it got worse I’d go to the doctor.

One night when my eyes were really bothering me I put my hand over my right eye; no problem my sight was fine. Then I tried the left eye….OMG! I could see with it but I noticed right in the middle of my sight I could see a problem. Especially when looking at a straight line, I saw a kink in it. Also when looking at a person’s face the left side of their face looked distorted. I had no black spots in my vision and I could still see fine at night but obviously there was something seriously wrong.

After going to my doctor he referred me to an Optometrist who told me that some of the vitreous gel in the back of my eye turned to fluid and that was why my vision had changed. He said it was due to old age, told me not to worry about it and referred me to a Retina Specialist Dr. Lam. This is when things got serious; I got my diagnosis and she said I had to have surgery as soon as possible.

This last Monday I had 3 appointments to get set up for my surgery which will be January 19th and I just got a call from Kaiser today ( telling me it will be at 1PM. I wish they would put me to sleep for the operation but I have to be awake and this will be the first surgery I ever had like this. I am petrified at the thought of being awake during the surgery and just hope they have some strong-ass medications so I’m not at all aware of what’s going on!

I don’t know how my sight will be when this is all said and done but our sight is one of the most important senses we have. I would rather loose a lot of other functions then my sight. Even one eye would be acceptable to me. My grandmother (bless her lovely soul) lost an eye to cancer and took it like the trooper that she was. She was no young lady either; in her 70’s when it happened and working at an old folks home part time. She was working with people as old or older than she was and did it with grace. She was an awesome woman.

Model Of The Eye

♦ The retina is a thin lining of nerve tissue on the inside back wall of the eye. The macula is the center of the retina. It is the part of our vision process that makes possible recognizing faces, reading, and driving a car.

♦ Symptoms of wet macular degeneration may include loss of central vision and visual distortion. For instance, a straight line may appear wavy or a small object may seem to be farther away than it really is.

♦ Macular degeneration doesn't cause total blindness. Peripheral vision may not be affected, but central vision, which is used for activities such as reading, watching television, and doing close work, is.

Then there’s the after eye surgery torture! OMG! I have to use this therapy device that keeps my head pointing down (like you see below) for a week OR MORE. That’s 24/7 folks; eating, watching TV, going to the bathroom, riding in a car, or anything that keeps my head in this face-brace contraption.

Bed time will be fun! I need sleep so I have to sleep (if I ever sleep again) on my stomach with a board-thing stuck between the mattresses holding the face-brace contraption on it. As you can see in the picture above. So comfortable.

They think they have a plan so you don’t go completely insane. The face-brace contraption comes on this folding chair that has a built in table and a two-way mirror. They expect me to spend most of my time in it so I can watch TV, read, (oh my aching back) and try to eat with my face down like that. I’m sure straws will be in order.

24/7 For At Least One Week!

If I don’t use this stuff and keep my head just like they tell me then the gas bubble they inject into my eye will not float to where it belongs and fix my eye. If I screw it up, I get surgery again, mess up my sight more plus all the costs that aren’t covered by insurance.

Oh, did I mention that my face-brace contraption (and comfort items) costs $20/day (at least) and my insurance (Kaiser) doesn’t pay for it? Wave bye-bye to aftercare.

I have always been an artist and my love of beauty, hell my love of life has everything to do with what I see! Then there’s “Blu” my beloved sports car that I adore driving! I almost lost my license in 2010 due to a medical problem and I live to drive. (Not a typo).

How am I going to blog and be online? Not easily even with a two way mirror I’d say. As you can see from the images above it’s going to be hard to use my computer AT ALL. Bummer! My computer is not a lap top. Big sigh! Being busy getting ready for this has put me behind in my writing. Something I miss when I can’t do it.

I really shouldn’t be whining; I mean it’s not cancer or other painful, horrible and fatal diseases people get every blink of an eye. It’s just another crisis in the life of Rebecca Del Sanchez and she’s had so many in the last 2 years. I don’t use my blogs to complain but it’s time for me to have a good year. I just want to enjoy my life as much as I can. It feels like a huge bolder is on my chest and if that bolder was just a bit smaller, well then managing it would be a little easier and I could catch my breath for once!

Dr. Lam assures me that she’s done this surgery many times before and as a team we can do this. I just worry if it’s so important to keep my head like that (and the gas bubble stable) that I should be in the hospital a few days afterwards. You know how it is these days everything is outpatient! Organ transplant? No problem, have you in and out in a day! Yes, you can wear your 5 inch heals when you go home. Tee hee!

Today I’m just trying to chill out and prepare for Thursday. I wrote this for here but am posting it on Bekkie In Wonderland too so I can get my news out with less work.

I am taking a brake from being online until my procedure is done and heals. I pray my sight is at least this good when I am finished so I can come back and do all of the many things I enjoy doing! And get my head out of that torture device so I can live and eat like a human being again!

Pray for me if you will and I’ll be back ASAP!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Your Résumé Please?

2012-01-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

I once tried a different approach to a résumé. I was applying at Sony in Foster City to be on the phones for their PlayStation Game Division. At the time I had a Space on Windows Live so I decided to do another Space (website) as a résumé for Sony.

I made my website all about Sony. I even did research on them and blogged about a few new things happening at their company. I had pictures of their offices and of course my information was craftily placed in an orderly manner around the website.

It was awesome! And I never heard a peep from them!

So I ran across some of these résumés that not only worked for others but are very clever and artsy to boot!

This is a Wakuda Studio résumé and shows how effective the military cloak can be.

This is the perfect example of an eye-catching and attention grabbing résumé. This résumé represents the life of the artist in different blocks that is easy for the employer to skim through.

This machine-like résumé shows the employer that they can expect nothing else but initiative ideas from the artist.

A unique, iconic way to describe the whole professional’s life and growth in a visual nutshell.

This résumé has been created by Adam Stephenson and shows the beauty of vintage style.

Another beautifully detailed artistic résumé explaining the key attributes of the artist.

This unique résumé shows the creativity of the artist.

This unique style of a résumé shows the human mind supremacy of thinking out of the box.

This menu style résumé is full of lavishness and offers a thorough presentation.

Here the artist presents a wonderful job hunting style in this résumé. This is a masterpiece of work.

Using colorful office products and his information this style résumé is a masterwork of stylish thinking.

This old style of graphic artwork shows the worth and skills of the artist.

This is a combination of affectionate letters and presents the lovely thoughts of artist in a visual nutshell.

This is a Google earth oriented résumé. It is spread on the earth map and shows the density around the globe.

I wondered after my sad attempt at my website résumé if anyone else had tried something like it and now I know.

Somehow it makes me feel a little better about what happened to me. Remember, not all companies will be excited to receive creative résumés.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Happy New Year My Friends

2011-12-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

It’s been a long year but it’s finally time to celebrate a new chance for us to start clean in 2012.

I haven’t started mine yet but how many of you have started your list of New Year resolutions?

It’s an easy thing to do until you find yourself staring at a blank page, waiting to come up with something.

According to Forbes- Forty-four percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. The problem begins when you make resolutions that are unattainable in the first place. Don’t pick things that will set you up to fail. Resolutions—made right—can make a huge difference in boosting happiness in your New Year.

The US Government (of all people) has provided a list of “Popular New Year's Resolutions”. They say that these are popular year after year. Need some help achieving these goals? Just click on the links for extra information.

I found something for everyone that I think may help. It’s a New Year Resolution Generator. It’s a lot of fun and actually gave me some manageable ideas.

Funny New Years Resolutions-I will……

♦ Start washing my hands after I use the restroom.

♦ Stop licking frozen flag poles.

♦ Only get divorced and remarried once this year.

♦ Watch more movie remakes.

♦ Go back to school to avoid paying my student loans.

♦ Only eat the white snow.

♦ Keep it to myself that I have trouble with authority when I'm being interviewed.

♦ Spend less than $1825 for coffee at Starbucks this year.

♦ Claim all my pets as dependents on my taxes.

♦ Start a blog about how I would write more often if I had something important to write. Only make one blog entry and leave it published for years.

♦ Talk with a robot voice all the time.

♦ Start using Facebook for something other than Farmville and stupid quizzes.

♦ Start smoking to lose weight.

♦ Switch my username to “password” and my password to “username” to make each a lot harder for hackers to figure out.

I would love to hear comments on some of your funny resolutions! Let’s hear them! I will…..

It’s easy to find e-cards on the internet but I’m finding that more and more of the sites I used to use where you can put yourself in the card and embed them in your blog are disappearing quickly. I prefer embedding them to providing a link, but it’s the thought that counts.

Check it out!

Here’s an e-card for you!

The month of December has come to a close

The sky has laid down a sweet blanket of snow

Christmas has faded like Rudolph’s red nose.

Looks like it’s time for New Years!

To the party you go with your friends in tow

Everyone’s happy there’s smiles all around

Later there will be a fire works show.

Looks like it’s time for New Years!

Grab your horn and your hat and put on your mask

And dance to the music all night

Having fun with your friends is not a hard task.

Looks like it’s time for New Years!

Now the fire works are over and midnight draws near

The countdown has begun

We raise up our glasses to toast the New Year;

“Happy New Year to one and to all!”

By: Bekkie Sanchez

A New Start For A New Year

I have two websites I’m blogging on now. Please drop by and check out my new one. It’s called “Diary Of A Mad Hoosier”. Wonderland will continue on with the stories I have always wrote here.

Diary Of A Mad Hoosier is going to have personal stories of my life growing up in my small town of Indiana, stories I remember as a baby (yes I do remember wayyyy back) and poem's I write. Most of the stories will be from the past and I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed living them. (Well, most of them.) Tee hee!

I have pretty mush reposted blogs for the holidays this year because I didn’t have time to do separate ones. I will not be reposting anything after New Year.

If you are Following me here please give me the gift of Following me on my new site also. I thank you!

Pictures of friends in my Network (that I have pictures for). Sending my love for New Year!

If you’d like to be included email me a picture and I’ll put it up. Bekkieswonderland@gmail.com

Keep On Bloggin’!

Christmas Is Almost Here!

2011-12-22T16:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas will be here in 3 days and Christmas Eve is in 2 days. I hope you’re ready friends! And I hope your Christmas is wonderful!

This is to wish you a from Wonderland.

I want to thank you for being good, supportive friends during the year. You made me happy by Following me, commenting on my website and being supportive when I needed you! You’re like guardian angels to me! Good friends are hard to find!

I have enjoyed your websites very much this year! Thank you for writing such awesome blogs to entertain me. I can only hope that I did the same for you.

If you have pets like I do, they make holidays more fun so make sure you have gifts for them to show them how much you love and cherish them. They give us so much unconditional love and we should make sure to include them at Christmas.

Santa Claus is making his trial run to make sure the reindeer and his sled are ready for the “big night”. He can’t have any mistakes on Christmas Eve!

“Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding.” Albert Einstein

Here’s a Christmas e-card for you!

I wonder if I’ll get anything since I’ve been naughty this year?

I just love putting up my Christmas tree. I like to put it up after Thanksgiving and keep it up until Feb. because I like the lights and I have antique and home made ornaments. I keep it watered well so it lasts and my enjoyment of it is major.

So have a Merry Christmas and I’ll be thinking of you!

Keep On Bloggin’!

The First Snow

2011-12-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving was over all that would be on my mind was when was it going to snow. I was too young to pay attention to or care about weather reports, the first snow for me would magically appear when I least expected it. Just the way I liked it.

One of my favorite things about Winter would be going to bed and waking up in the morning with a thick blanket of snow covering everything in sight. Our city is on Lake Michigan and we get lake-effect snow because we lived in the snowbelt which just meant we got even more snow than we normally would of. When it finally snowed, well, that was up to Mother Nature.

I didn’t like my mother fussing around and putting all the layers of clothes on me before I could go out to play and I cried. It made my cheeks sting when I finally stepped outside. My mom told me I had to stay in the yard so I walked over to the tire swing and half heartedly pushed it.

I watched the stray leaves blowing around the yard in the cold wind as I tried to find something to do. The trees were bare and the leaves in our yard had been raked up and burned in the alley for the last time. I missed playing in the leaf piles and the smell of burning leaves.

None of my friends were outside to play with so I walked to the back of our yard to look in the alley for pretty rocks. (Our alleys were covered in gravel, not paved with cement like here in California.) While searching for rocks I glanced up at the sky. It was deep blue and the sun was out with fluffy white clouds moving by very quickly. It sure didn’t look like it was going to snow, but it was very cold.

It was hard to pick up rocks in my mittens and I could barely walk around in my snowsuit. I was bored and plopped down in the grass and pretended to make a snow angel. It wasn’t very satisfying. If only this were real snow I could build a snow man or maybe mom would let me try out my new flying saucer.*

I snapped out of my day dream when I heard my mom’s voice. “Bekkie what are you doing on the ground like that you’re going to get sick!” I looked up to see my mom had put on her coat and come outside to check on me. She continued to scold me; “Let me help you up and we’ll go inside where it’s warm.” She shivered as we started towards the house. “It is freezing out here, it sure feels like snow. What were you thinking? Do you want another visit from Dr. Gilbert?” “No mom, he always gives me shots.” I complained.

Once inside I had to wait while she took off my layers of clothing and boots. She lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. “It’s getting late Bekkie why don’t you go play while I fix dinner, your father will be home soon.” “Mom, how can you feel the snow if it isn’t here yet?” I asked. “What? She replied while turning on the stove; Oh, it’s just a saying. Why don’t you go play in your room with your horses?”

I went to my bedroom and played until it was time to eat. The evening was like any other and by bed time I had a different subject on my mind. Sleep.

The next morning I woke up and played in my room until mom got up to dress and feed me. After breakfast I went into the living room to play and when I looked outside the window I was thrilled to see that I woke up to a thick fresh blanket of snow covering everything just like I dreamed of. The first snow of the season and it was still snowing out! Excited I ran to my mother and asked; “How did you make it snow when I wanted it to?”

She just smiled and said; “Mother’s just know about these things.” And of course I believed her completely.

We all know you don’t mess with Mother Nature.

Keep On Bloggin’!

*A flying saucer was the brand name for a round plastic sled for young kids with two handles.

Fun Facts With General Knowledge

2011-12-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

1. Longest English Word: Praetertranssubstan tiationalistical ly has 37 letters.

2. A Book Without The Letter "e": GADFY, written by Earnest Wright in 1939 is a 50,000+ word book, which doesn't contain a single word with the letter 'e' in it.

3. Words Without Vowels: Rhythm, Sky, Fry & Cry

4. Human Brain: Is an organ in our body which feels no pain nor has no sensation when cut.

5. Crocodile: Only animal & reptile which sheds tears while eating. Hence, “crocodile tears.”

6. Number of alphabets, which sound as words: They are;

B, Bee

C, Sea

G, Zee

I, Eye

Q, Queue

R, Are

S, Yes

T, Tea

U, You

Y, Why

7. Fascinating Animals, Birds & Trees:

♦ Snails have 14,175 teeth laid along 135 rows on their tongue.

♦ A butterfly has 12,000 eyes.

♦ Dolphins sleep with one eye opened.

♦ A Blue Whale can eat as much as 3 tons of food everyday, but at the same time can live without food for 6 months.

♦ The earth has over 12,000,000 species of animals, 3,00,000 species of plants & 1,00,000 other species.

♦ The most fierce dinosaur was tyrannosaurs which had sixty long & sharp teeth, used to attack & eat other dinosaurs.

♦ Demetrio was a mammal like reptile with a snail on its back. This acted as a radiator to cool the body of the animal.

♦ Cassowary is one of the most dangerous birds, that can kill a man or animal by tearing off the flesh with its dagger like claws.

♦ The swan has over 25,000 feathers on it’s body.

♦ The ostrich eats pebbles to help digestion by grinding up the indigested food.

♦ Polar bears can look clumsy and slow but during a chase on ice, can reach up to 25 miles per hour.

♦ Kiwis are the only birds which hunt by sense of smell.

♦ Elephant teeth can weight as much as 9 pounds a tooth.

♦ Owls are the only bird that can rotate it’s head to 270 degrees.

8. What Are They? (Answers Below)*

A. If we say “mummy” they come together and go apart when we say “daddy.”

B. What goes up and never comes down?

C. Patches over patches but no stiches.

D. What is it that we cannot see, but is always before you.

E. What goes up and down a hill, but never moves?

F. You can never wet it.

G. What belongs to you, but is used by other’s more often than you do?

9. In 24 hours the average person’s body does what?

♦ The heart beats 1,03,689 times.

♦ The lungs respire 23,045 times.

♦ Blood flows 16,000 miles.

♦ Nails grow 0.00007 inches.

♦ Hair grows 0.01715 inches.

♦ Takes on 2.9 pounds of water (including all liquids.)

♦ Takes on 3.25 pounds of food.

♦ Breathes 438 cubic feet of air.

♦ Loses 85.60 of body temperature.

♦ Produces 1.43 pints of sweat.

♦ Speaks 4,800 words.

♦ During sleep moves 25.4 times.

* “What Are They?” Answers:

A. Lips

B. Age

C. Cabbage

D. Future

E. Road

F. Shadow

G. Your name

Got any more fun facts to add to this I’d be glad to hear them.

Keep On Bloggin’!

How Time Flies

2011-12-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

Another week has come and gone in a blink of my eye. I’m glad it’s Friday, I need some weekend time but I can’t believe how fast the week went by! Of course the weekend will go by even faster. This is December already and it’s almost 2012. Time sure does fly.

I have been giving some thought about how time flies and found some goodies about it to share with you before I enjoy my Friday night.

Proverbs By Giga *

♦ Times change and we with time.

♦ Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods. (Japanese)

♦ Time fleeth away without delay.

♦ Time gives good advice. (Maltese)

♦ Time heals old pain, while it creates new ones. (Hebrew)

♦ Time is anger's medicine. (German)

♦ Time has a forelock, but is bald behind. (Latin)

♦ Times passes like the wind. (Portuguese)

♦ Time lost cannot be won again.

* The proverbs are American unless otherwise noted.

Best Quotes/Poems

♦ All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that. Baltasar Gracian

♦ Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst. William Penn

♦ Nothing is as far away as one minute ago. Jim Bishop

♦ Time is a cruel thief to rob us of our former selves. We lose as much to life as we do to death. Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

♦ Time cuts down all, Both great and small. Anonymous

♦ I have never seen someone unafraid of the future, not worried about the present and someone who doesn't want to go back to the past and correct their mistakes. Kazi Shams

♦ Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. Carl Sandburg

♦ Time, whose tooth gnaws away at everything else, is powerless against truth. Thomas Huxley

♦ As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. Henry David Thoreau

♦ Time, time, time, see what’s become of me,
While I looked around,
For my possibilities;
I was so hard to please
Paul Simon

♦ The bird of time has not far to fly,
And the bird is on the wing! Anon

Time Flies-A song By Porcupine Tree

I don’t know this band but I really like the song. Give it a try!

PoemHunter

How Time Flies

Tick-tick-tick the clock moves
Sixty times and it’s a minute
A little while and it’s another hour
And soon dusk approaches
Night, then a new day
Few hours ago
Now termed yesterday
And before you know it
The year is gone
Sweet memories
Flashing through the mind
Like it happened
Few seconds past
But lo
That was some years back
Surprised
How seconds turn minutes
Minutes turn hours
Hours turn days
Days turn weeks
Weeks turn months
And you have a year
Oh how time flies

By Stewart Gideon

The Free Dictionary

(My,) how time flies.

1. Time has gone by quickly, it is time for me to go. Bill: Look at the clock! Mary: How time flies! I guess you'll be going. Bill: Yes, I have to get up early. John: My watch says it's nearly midnight. How time flies! Jane: Yes, it's late. We really must go.

2. Time passes quickly. (Said especially when talking about how children grow and develop.) "Look at how big Billy is getting," said Uncle Michael. "My, how time flies." Tom: It seems it was just yesterday that I graduated from high school. Now I'm a grandfather. Mary: My, how time flies.

I hope you enjoyed your time spent reading this blog! How time flies!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Twenty Six Helpful Tips For Blogging Success

2011-12-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

I have been blogging for over 10 years, starting with AOL, moving onto Tagged, Facebook, MySpace, deviant ART, Linked in, Windows Live, and many other blogging accounts ending with the best; Blogger.

To be a successful blogger it’s not enough to start a website and just blog about your day. I did this myself for years until I noticed that my blogs were suffering from spotty comments, bad content and low page views. I did research on the types of blogs that do get loads of comments and came to the conclusion that if I wanted to be successful at blogging I needed to do more than just socialize. I found out it takes hard work, clever planning, a sense of humor, brilliant writing and the right moves to become a successful blogger.

My list may be a long one, but I can bet that you will find something to help you make the right moves to be a better blogger. We can always improve can’t we?

If you want a social page you can add a tab to your BlogSpot, (like a Guestbook tab) and use it as a social page for your friends and family and still get your blog on. Don’t forget, there’s always Facebook for those of you that just want to socialize.

Here’s my tips to get more readers than you ever imagined and move your BlogSpot to the top of the line. Good luck, and most of all you should have fun with it and look forward to it. If you aren’t enjoying yourself maybe blogging isn’t for you.

Tips For Blogging Success

1. Publish Consistently-Daily posts are important! Content should be consistently posted because readers like predictability and will look forward to new posts from you on a daily basis. Figure out a publishing schedule you can live with and stick to it. Once a week or twice a month, whatever your blogging time permits stick to it. You are only as good as your last post.

2. Co-Blog with A Partner-Regular posts for blogs can be a hassle for some bloggers to manage solo. If you know you will not have the time to blog yourself, invite a co-worker or a friend who shares the same passion and dedication as you and ask them to co-blog. It keeps your regulars on your website instead of looking elsewhere and a different perspective never hurts.

3. Get On The Search Engines-When you are just starting out on your BlogSpot fifty is a magic number in blogging terms. I don’t know why the number 50 was picked but after 50 blogs your website will start to be picked up by the search engines and the page views will began to increase. The page views will grow exponentially with the increase in search engine queries. It’s almost as if “50 blogs” gives you a leg to stand on and the more search engines you are on the better.

4. Use Original Photos Or Images-It has been reported that blogs with original photos earned twice the number of page views than those articles with license-free images. Take the time to pick the right images to compliment your blog content and your blog will bring even more page views. I have found that animated gifs are an easy and fun way to make the look of your blogs POP. It adds an original look to your content that will bring even more page views your way.

5. Use Friendly Titles And Captions On Photos And Your Blogs-Keywords (or labels) help people find your blogs through your photos and captions give an extra anchor for readers because humans are naturally visual animals. It’s a little extra work but before you upload a photo for your blog, title each image with a keyword or label. It will ensure that the search engines optimize these so your website can be found by either the photos or on your blog. Do a search on yourself to see how you’re doing.

6. Comment On All Comments-Be social and grateful to your readers that leave comments. Most readers will not respond to blogs, even if they like them. I receive a lot more page views then comments because readers take the information and move on. So when you get a comment respond promptly. Address them by name, add to the discussion and invite them back. Thank them for their time and readership.

7. Read And Comment On Other People’s Blogs-Following someone’s blogs isn’t enough. You expect your Followers to read and comment on your blogs so it’s only fair play to visit, read and comment on your Followers blogs. Do this on a daily basis and soon you’ll find that you will receive the comments from your readers that you want.

8. Publish An Honest, Complete Profile-Websites where you can actually get to know some facts about the blogger’s work or life you are Following seem more legitimate than those with a frivolous profile page. Especially if you are serious about writing and want your Followers to trust in who you are and what you write. People like to know things like where you’re from, your interests, around what age you are, (it shows in your writing anyway) a little back round information and where you live. Don’t be shy, I can tell you from experience that an honest profile with a picture of yourself goes a long way. I took a few images of myself and made them into an animated gif for my profile picture and readers eat it up. Showing Followers a glimpse of who you really are goes a long way.

9. Email Signature With Your URL-At the bottom of every email you send your signature should include your email address, your URL, a cell phone number, or any other information you want to include it’s up to you. It will make networking easier and it’s a way to advertise that will help bring more readers to your blogging site. Optimally, you should have a separate email account designated just for that URL so that your personal messages don’t get lost in the mix. I have one account for my blogging/personal use and another for everything else.

10. Guest Bloggers-Find a blogger that you think is brilliant? You can learn from them. Ask them to guest blog on your site. They add a whole different dimension and outlook to your BlogSpot. You can ask them to blog on a certain subject or put up a prompt and ask people to write whatever they want about it. Or let them blog on what they want. When they do make sure they get a link back to their own site on your website for their work. Thank them for participating on your BlogSpot. Guest bloggers can help you with exposure. When you link to that blog, many of their Followers and friends will come to check out your site. Depending on the amount of readers they have it’s a great way to boost your page views or find new Followers yourself.

11. Be Interesting-Readers want to find fresh, valuable, entertaining and remarkable information. Make an effort to deliver more than just the facts. Make it about your subject matter, not you. It doesn’t hurt to be personal but avid blog readers won’t find blogs that talk about the weather everyday sound that interesting. Just like you, they want some meat on those bones.

12. Get Your Point Across-Style, grammar, spelling, layout, all count for nothing if your audience doesn’t get your meaning. Make yourself clear and understood.

13. Hold On To Passion-Keep the fires burning, don’t let your blog subject turn into a chore. It’s important to recognize when you need to scrap a blog too, sometimes they just aren’t good enough to post. Enjoy what you are doing and it will show.

14. Make A Good First Impression-Do new visitors know what your blog is about in under 10 seconds? Can they navigate your website easily? Make sure your blog is set up professionally so that your readers can clearly understand your subject matter and find what they are looking for.

15. Build Momentum And Optimize Your Blogs-Keep pushing every day and keep it up. I try to do one blog a day and if I get busy at least one every few days. It takes less effort to keep going than to stop and start again. All of us can improve our writing but it takes practice and motivation. Keep tweaking and continuously improve your writing because practice makes a perfect BlogSpot.

16. Look Good And Be Unique-Appearances count, in terms of your blog design and your posts. Make your content stand out by using the template designer in the advanced mode and make it your own. Change your website’s look occasionally so your readers see changes when they visit. I suggest balancing them out with animated and regular images. Don’t be afraid to try something new. If your website is the same as everyone else's, why would anyone bother to Follow your blog?

17. Give Out Your Own Awards And Share Others-Make your own special award and give them out to other bloggers that you think deserve them. The awards can be for anything you like. It’s a great way to tell your favorite bloggers you appreciate them and it will bring new people (their friends and Followers) to your BlogSpot increasing your readership. It’s all good.

18. Using Blogs Of Note For More Page Views-Look under your Blogger Dashboard at “Blogs Of Note” and check out the blogs there. These blogs are popular, crème of the crop and the sites have loads of Followers on them. Find the ones that interest you, Follow them, leave lots of comments and you will get more people checking out your site because of it

19. Be A Guest Blogger On Another Site-There are a lot of sites out there that encourage you to be a guest writer on their sites. You get a prompt, (usually a picture or term) and if you blog about it on your site it’s a plus! You will usually get a link on that site back to yours (at least you should) and people who Follow that site will come to see what you’ve done. It’s another great way to get more page views for your BlogSpot while you polish your blogging skills.

20. Monitor Your Stats-Stats tell you the health of your blog and where the traffic is coming from. Keep an eye on your statistics to make sure you are writing content that brings new readers in yet keeps your old ones. Your stats will also tell you if your blog strategy is solid or if you need to make some changes. Is your blog readership growing or fading away?

21. Communication Fascination-If you love your subject matter then let your readers know it. If you share your enthusiasm it becomes contagious and makes your readers excited about it too. Give them a reason to want to leave a comment.

22. Explore And Experiment-Blogs that make an effort to stretch, to break the mold and provide something unique are the blogs people flock to, chat about, and return to. Be inspired to have your BlogSpot under “Blogs Of Note.”

23. Poll Your Readers-Run different polls, the results are newsworthy and fun. Have a fixed date for the poll to be finished and blog on the results. Find out what your readers think about any subject you pick. Just make sure your poll is fun and interesting to your readers or you won’t get many answers.

24. Join Forums-Break out of your blogging bubble. Network by meeting potential readers online, discuss cool subjects and make new friends. You can learn a lot depending on the forum you are taking part in and you may find something awesome to blog about at the same time.

25. Get More Experience And Develop Expertise-Do new things, broaden your horizons, practice your writing and stretch your limits. Practice makes perfect. In no time you will learn what works for you and what doesn’t. You will develop a good idea as to what kind of blogs bring the readers to your BlogSpot.

26. Toot Your Own Horn-You worked hard for it, your blogging success will grow as you do and you’ll have more Followers then you ever imagined. Good for you!

Whoever you are just remember what I always say;

“Keep On Bloggin’!”

Cat Plays With Dolphin

2011-11-30T23:51:00.000-08:00

This video is really something! It always amazes me how animals get along when you wouldn’t think they could. Is this a cat playing with it’s food? No matter what it’s surprising and darling to watch.

Cat Plays With Dolphin - Watch MoreFunny Videos

This video is from the website Break.

Today is Wednesday and I hope yours is wonderful. Isn’t it cool that all cats come with their own headlights?

I like how someone did this gif, it’s so much fun.

A really cute little….OMG evil kitten!

Bow down to the hypno-cat.

Cat eyes are beautiful.

A cat playing with his food before lunch.

Cats are amazing, loving, smart and give me great comfort. I love them dearly and they are better than a valium! Tee hee! My cats give me a lot of pleasure. Cats are very adaptable and surprise us everyday with their unique behaviors. Videos, art, performing, anything about cats online are at an all time high now. They are entertaining and I couldn’t do without them.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Welcome One And All To The Fly Circus!

2011-11-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

Admission is FREE!

Fleas have nothing on these flies! Enjoy this death defying art form by Swedish photographer Magnus Muhr! He takes the carcasses of dead flies, lays them on paper and fills them with life through a few strokes of his pencil.

And now, under the small top ringmaster Magnus Muhr presents his talented fly troop led by star flies Mr. Majestic and Queen Zenith. Please enjoy the show!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Hue Optical Illusions *

2011-11-30T15:14:00.000-08:00

Arjen Goldschmidt has sent in what appears to be the best (proof-endorsed) color optical illusion I have seen up to date! Below examples showcase embedded lines of seemingly different colors. The reason they look different is because our brain judges the color of an object by comparing it to surrounding colors. So without us even knowing it, in first example, our brains compare the flowing red stripes to the yellow stripes, forcing us to think they are orange. The blue stripes make the red ones appear much darker -almost purple, even though they are exactly the same color! This is just one of the examples why you cannot trust what you see even with your own eyes. Next time someone swears they saw Jesus, UFO, or a ghost, show them this animation ;)

Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically as “the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow” (those being the unique hues). The other main correlatives of color appearance are colorfulness, Chroma, saturation, lightness, and brightness.

In painting color theory, a hue refers to a pure color—one without tint or shade (added white or black pigment, respectively). A hue is also an element of the color wheel. Hues are first processed in the brain in areas in the extended V4 called globs.

* This article is from Mighty Optical Illusions. If you love optical illusions of all kinds this is the place to check out!

Here’s an example of the same type of hue optical illusions except without color. Is one gray line lighter or darker? As you can see the principle still works.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T18:50:00.001-08:00

I don’t know about you…but with the way things are going with jobs, the economy, health issues and not having the money to pay all the bills it may be hard to find something to be thankful for this year. I guess I am thankful Thanksgiving is over with. And not one of you better mention that I should be glad I’m still alive! Oh lord!

While I try and figure out what side is up I thought I’d send my fond wishes out to my faceless friends. Well, you know what I mean. You Wonderful souls that float through my Wonderland. I do care about you and enjoy getting to know you very much. You are all so sweet and just look at how small we are making the World seem. I enjoy my readers from all over the earth.

I did have an OK Thanksgiving, made a turkey breast (only two of us) some cornbread stuffing, mash potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie and we are stuffed! So I’m going to at least have a go at some more of my holiday feast before the days over.

Unfortunately, I still didn’t find much to be thankful for. That’s just how it is this year. But, I AM thankful for YOU!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Things We Forget To Remember

2011-11-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

Now what was I just thinking of?

When I put this blog up yesterday I forgot to give credit where credit is due! All of these funny posts-came from a website called; Post-it notes left to their fate in public places. I am including a link to the BlogSpot in case you want to buy some of TWF posters they have for sale. Don’t forget to;”Keep On Bloggin’!”

Oh Say Can You See

2011-11-12T13:05:00.001-08:00

Welcome to old age! If you are 40+ years or older I bet you know what I’m talking about. One day you notice that your eyesight is a little blurry while your reading and the next you find yourself buried in dozens of different pairs of eyeglasses wondering if you will ever see clearly again.

Almost everyone will eventually suffer from presbyopia. The condition is a natural part of aging and gets worse as you grow older. The focusing power of the eye depends on the elasticity of the lens. This elasticity is gradually lost as people age. The result is a slow decrease in the ability of the eye to focus on nearby objects and a huge increase of blurry objects in your life.

Presbyopia can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. In some cases, the addition of bifocals to an existing lens prescription is enough. New surgical procedures can also provide solutions for those who do not want to wear glasses or contacts but surgery is a risk and the results can’t be guaranteed. As the ability to focus up close worsens, the prescription needs to be changed and probably more than once.

You will browse the aisles of pharmacies looking for stronger eyeglasses until you hit the ceiling of what they can do for you. Drug store eyeglasses only go up to 3.00’s in most stores. Then it’s time to go to the eye doctor. Using drug store eyeglasses, I still find myself needing one pair for up close reading, another for using at my computer screen and a magnifier for reading the backs of labels at the store.

Around the age of 65, you will be pretty much blind. The eyes will have lost most of the elasticity needed to focus up close. However, it will still be possible to read by using really large print and lots of light. Using your arm to hold reading materials further away is recommended. Wow, it’s no wonder when it comes to eyeglasses we have been in the dark ages!

I went from perfect eyesight at age 48 to total denial when it came to me having problems with my eyes due to old age and that there was such a thing as presbyopia. I started my drug store eyeglasses out at 1.25 strength and got to 3.00 so fast that I got whiplash! Even with glasses that are the right strength, I still feel the loss every day because nothing seems to recapture the constant crystal clear sight that I remember.

Now, for something completely different! I found this very exciting news online about new lenses/glasses that I want to share with you. It not only looks promising but will change everything we know about eyeglasses and perhaps give us back our wonderful eyesight.

The first person to sport bifocals was in 1864 in a cartoon showing Benjamin Franklin wearing a pair of bifocals, and not a lot has changed since then. About 100 years after that the first pair of adjustable focus glasses was patented in the United States, but it used different fixed-focus lenses. Now, 245 years after Franklin and 143 years after the first adjustable glasses patent, someone has actually developed adjustable lenses that work.

Say Hello To The New TruFocals

According to The New York Times, inventor Stephen Kurtin has developed the first manually adjustable lenses that let the wearer adjust from long distance to short distance viewing at the flip of a switch. The secret is a layer of liquid within the lens that changes shape depending on the situation.

Called TruFocals, the glasses are composed of two components, a rigid plastic or glass lens, and a clear liquid that also acts as a lens. A slider on the top of the frame's bridge compresses the liquid, changing the shape and focus of the liquid lens, and thus the distance of focus for the wearer. Just like our eyes used to.

There have been other adjustable lens glasses created before, including the winner of a PopSci “Best of What’s New Award” in 2000. But those lenses had adjustable prescriptions, and did not toggle between long and near vision for a single user.

The TruFocals retail for $895 and only come in these “Harry Potter” looking frames, but they are just the beginning. As soon as next year, a company called PixelOptics hopes to release glasses that perform the same function as TruFocals, but do so using an electric impulse that alters the refractive index of the lens. Even NASA is using and working with them.

This is great news for all of us struggling to get back the sight we once had. The best news is these companies are working on having this new lens fit in all kinds of frames and at a much cheaper price. Music to my ears, tired eyes and pocketbook! Tee hee!

As for the TruFocals you may have already started to see some people sporting them, (like Hollywood stars) and they claim they haven’t seen so clearly in years. So far, they are a hit!

Looks like the adjustable eyeglass market just got a lot more crowded. That means more choices and better cheaper glasses. Hopefully, it means that I can try on a pair to buy soon!

While writing this a question came to mind. Why hasn’t someone come up with an eye drop or a medicine that works on the brain to improve sight? Just a thought….

Keep On Bloggin’!

Pumpkin Art

2011-10-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

Before Halloween is gone I thought I’d do a blog about pumpkin art. Pumpkin art has come a long way since the very first carving of jack-o-lanterns and I have been saving these images for years so there’s no sense in wasting them. Hope you like them.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Facebook Shut Down, Real Or Rumor?

2011-10-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

Facebook Says It’s NOT Shutting Down March 15 (UPDATED)

Is Facebook closing or not? It doesn’t seem like something they would do being so popular and making so much money but you never can tell. I found this article on Mashable Social Media and this is what they said.

There’s a silly rumor exploding on the Internet this weekend, alleging that Facebook is shutting down on March 15 because CEO Mark Zuckerberg “wants his old life back,” and desires to “put an end to all the madness.” (Good thing he’s not living in Wonderland.)

[UPDATE] We have official confirmation from Facebook Director of Corporate Communications Larry Yu that the rumor is false. We asked him via e-mail if Facebook was shutting down on March 15, to which he responded, “The answer is no, so please help us put an end to this silliness.” He added, “We didn’t get the memo about shutting down and there’s lots to do, so we’ll just keep cranking away like always.”

Let’s think about this for a minute. Would Facebook decide to shut down the company just a few days after announcing a round of funding, consisting of $450 million from Goldman Sachs and $50 million from Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, on a valuation of $50 billion?

The spurious report was started by a site to which we refuse to link, known for its reports of impending attacks of alien spaceships and false reports of a Michelle Obama pregnancy.

The fact that this absurd hoax spread so efficiently makes us wonder: Will people believe anything?

I believe so; I have seen people believe all kinds of things in this lifetime. Some that have shocked me! In business this happens a lot.

I guess we will see what happens in the end. As far as the site that started this “rumor” if it really is spreading bad news. It wouldn’t be the only one that pulls this crap online these days.

I feel Facebook isn’t going to just shut down but in this economy I see many huge companies that have problems even though they are successful and making plenty of money. Facebook would not be the first company to go down like this in these times, but with the amount of money they’re making it would be unreal!

So what do you think about it?

Keep On Bloggin’!

Old Auto Parts Made Fabulous

2011-10-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

These wonderful welding sculptures were done by Australian artist James Corbett. He’s 46 years old and lives in Ningi, Queensland, Australia with his wife Jodie. He creates his popular sculptures using pieces of old cars; the French and British cars are James' favorites to retrieve for his work.

He said he got started when; "I was working in a scrap warehouse and a guy I know that ran stock car races, showed me a Trophy made of used car parts. The winner was Levers Of Change. I looked at it and I thought that I could do a much better job so I started making my own sculptures." And the rest was pure inspiration and talent.

James explains that welding and the sculpture of the parts is not what consumes the most time when making a piece. He says; "Often the longest part of the process is finding old parts suitable for the sculpture."

His sculptures are made of gears, spark plugs, exhausts, radiators, anything that James can find. After spending weeks dedicated to locating suitable pieces, he meticulously cleans every part and welds them together. "On average, each piece takes a little over two weeks of work, but the larger pieces can take much longer", he says.

Corbett is a genius, this is the man that converts parts of cars that have been scrapped into sculptures worth thousands of dollars. I admire him for his talent and he’s helping the earth by recycling. The best of both worlds.

His favorite pieces? "My two favorite pieces I've created for this exhibition are the ram and the wild boar," he says.

Now, let’s take a look at his fabulous art, these pieces below were all fabricated from junk cars made from 1950 and 1960. I think you’ll love what you see!

One of the pieces, a ram made of spark plugs, sold for a
whopping $23,000!

Artist at work!

I’d love to have one of these sculptures in my home but they’re a little pricey for me. I agree with Corbett about which sculptures are the best (they look like they have the most work put in them) but I like the squirrel, one rabbit, a bird; hell there’s hardly any I don’t like. Tee hee! Art that is brilliant and helping the world recycle at the same time. I like it.

Keep On Bloggin’!

PS Can you see the skull in the dragon? Brahhahhhahhhahh!

Wave Good-Bye To Facebook?

2011-10-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Mark Zuckerberg

I’m not sure this story is true because it’s hard to imagine, but Facebook is closing it’s doors…yes, shutting down for good and supposedly we’re getting a year to adjust. A year? The shut down date is slated for March 15th 2012

The first I heard of this was from a friend of mine who’s also on Facebook and at first I didn’t believe him. I mean, how could Facebook just shut down?

They are the largest most successful social network ever and all of the other social/blogging networks emulate them hoping to gain their success.

Microsoft, Google and other networks have tried to buy Facebook only to have their offers turned down.

My other friends on Facebook have not said anything about hearing about the shut down nor have they said how they feel about it happening. They seem to be ignorant about the shut down or haven’t heard about it yet.

It’s just hard to believe, I’m not sure if it’s true or what’s happening with this company but it sure is shocking all the less! They make so much money and are so successful that I can’t imagine it happening. All I know is that people who have accounts on Facebook and are serious about it are going to be furious!

Here’s the first article I found about the Facebook shut down on Weekly World News.

PALO ALTO, CA –Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will be shut down in March of 2012. Managing the site has become too stressful.

“Facebook has gotten out of control,” said Zuckerberg in a press conference outside his Palo Alto office, “and the stress of managing this company has ruined my life. I need to put an end to all the madness.”

Zuckerberg went on to explain that starting March 15th of next year, users will no longer be able to access their Facebook accounts. That gives users (and Facebook addicts) a year to adjust to life without Facebook.

“After March 15th, 2012 the whole website shuts down,” said Avrat Humarthi, Vice President of Technical Affairs at Facebook. “So if you ever want to see your pictures again, I recommend you take them off the internet. You won’t be able to get them back after Facebook goes out of business.”

Zuckerberg said the decision to shut down Facebook was difficult, but that he does not think people will be upset.

“I personally don’t think it’s a big deal,” he said in a private phone interview. “And to be honest, I think it’s for the better. Without Facebook, people will have to go outside and make real friends. That’s always a good thing.”

Some Facebook users were furious upon hearing the shocking news.

“What am I going to do without Facebook?” said Denise Bradshaw, a high school student from Indiana. “My life revolves around it. I’m on Facebook at least 10 hours a day. Now what am I going to do with all that free time?”

However, parents across the country have been experiencing a long anticipated sense of relief.

“I’m glad the Facebook nightmare is over,” said Jon Guttari, a single parent from Detroit. “Now my teenager’s face won’t be glued to a computer screen all day. Maybe I can even have a conversation with her.”

Here’s an update I found on this story from Weekly World News.

FACEBOOK WILL END ON MARCH 15th, 2012! (UPDATE)

PALO ALTO – Facebook continues to deny rumors it is shutting down on March 15th of 2012. WWN, however, has confirmed that it is true.

On January 9th, WWN’s ace reporter, J.B. Smitts, broke the international story that Facebook was going to close down on March 15th because Mark Zuckerberg wanted to return to a normal life. The story caused a worldwide sensation, and J.B. Smitts has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for breaking it.

Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg has publicly denied the rumors, saying, “Facebook is not going to close down. Not now, not ever. We’re just getting started.”

David Ebersman, the CFO of Facebook, and the man working with Goldman Sachs on the new Facebook financing deal said, “Many people feel that the deal with Goldman Sachs will lead to a change in Facebook or that we might shut down so that the government won’t force us to go public. All of those rumors are false. We are going to be stronger than ever after March 15th.”

But WWN has spoken to insiders at Facebook who strongly contradict the public statements of the executive management team.

Sources inside Facebook tell us that the company is already making plans on how to handle the big shutdown. “We can’t just turn it off on March 15th of 2012. There will be a revolution,” said one insider. “We have to prepare our users for the end of Facebook and offer them ways to keep their social networks alive.”

Zuckerberg maintains that one year is enough time for users to prepare for the demise of Facebook. It also gives rival sites time to build up their user base.

There were rumors that Zuckerberg himself was going to appear on the Oscars on February 27th, when The Social Network is sure to win Best Picture of the Year Award. But Zuckerberg did not show. New rumors are that Zuckerberg will make “an important announcement to the world” about the future of Facebook when he meets with President Obama in the White House on June 15th.

Meanwhile, there is panic all around the globe as Facebook users (and addicts) are frightened that they may lose their social networking community. Top celebrities Tyra Banks, Mila Kunis, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Ashton Kutchter, Carrot Top, Meryl Streep, Danny Bonaduce and the Real Housewives of New Jersey and Atlanta are all panicking about losing Facebook. “I’m addicted to Facebook,” said Tyra Banks. “without it, my life is over!”

An online petition was started to help persuade Zuckerberg and Facebook to remain open. If you are interested; SIGN THE “SAVE FACEBOOK” PETITION HERE.

The organizer of the “Please Do Not Shut Down Facebook Petition”, Fritz Barnkopf, said; “We hope to get a million or more signatures before the Oscars, so Mark Zuckerberg will reconsider his tragic decision.”

Weekly World News is following this developing story closely by constantly talking with Facebook insiders. We certainly are rooting for Facebook to continue because it’s an important part of our own social media strategy and leading source for our site visits.

How would you feel if Facebook shuts down and would you be upset or not? Do you think Facebook or the internet are addictive?

Keep On Bloggin’!

To Code Or Not To Code

2011-10-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

What if you could design and publish HTML websites without writing code or using templates from other accounts (like Blogger) to do so? A website where you can focus on creativity alone to put exactly what you want on your website. Adobe has made this possible with (codename) Muse.

Muse, now in public beta, is for graphic designers that want to design and publish unique, professional HTML websites without worrying how to write code. So far 300,000+ designers have already downloaded Muse and have been very pleased with the results.

Check it out for yourself at the Muse website. First watch the video called Meet Muse for an introduction to Adobe’s brainchild. On their site you can also Get Muse to try out and they have video tutorials to watch if you need any help learning how to use it.

To see what can be done without code take a peek at the Muse Site Showcase to see how others are using this program to make fantastic one of a kind websites for themselves.

Right now to design your own website you have to know one of the many programs (besides HTML) to do so. As well as Blogger works when you design your site you still have to work with a choice of already designed templates that they offer and follow Google’s policies.

There have been plenty of times I tried to embed content or applications on my site here at Blogger and have had problems. Wouldn’t it be great to forgo this and put what I want to on my website with nobodies policy but my own? If you have a website or are thinking of making one then I’m sure you agree.

I hope you have a frightful weekend and get lots of treats! Here’s a special treat just for you! Happy Halloween!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Thursday’s Fantastic Art

2011-10-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Keep On Bloggin’!

Painting With Light

2011-10-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Painting with light can masterfully blend light graffiti and abandoned places to show us just how cool light painting photography can be. Here’s an example of painting with light from another artist to give you an idea of how it can look.

Photographer Andy Hemingway has released a photo series of light paintings in an abandoned parking garage in Houston, TX. Ribbons of light flutter through empty, open spaces, weaving luminescent floating images that stand out against the stark, cold appearance of the abandoned garage.

With a flashlight and some special tools, Hemingway can frame his shot on a tripod, set a long exposure and dance through the shot with his lights in hand. Here’s Hemingway’s gig as he sets up another light painting.

The result is what you see below, a collection of Andy Hemingway’s Light Graffiti Gallery.

Light paintings look like great fun to do and I’d like to see what they look like with more colors and lights. I have seen moving light paintings and they are really nice.

The weekend approaches as this is Thursday already. Is it just me, or do the weeks fly by so fast that one runs into another? Hope your week has been enjoyable!

Keep On Bloggin’!

James Kuhn’s Face Painting Is Amazing Stuff

2011-10-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

I have written a blog about body painting in the past and I find it very interesting to see what an artist can come up with when painting bodies. James Kuhn is famous for his face painting and his results are striking!

As a New Years resolution for 2008 Kuhn challenged himself to create a new face painting everyday and then photographed them to upload them to his website. He calls it: 365 a face a day project. James Kuhn. “Face Paint Diary.”

Kuhn says; “I started this project as something to do on a snowy day to avoid house cleaning. The first faces were for me only and I did not spend much time on them. I put the faces on the internet on my Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/hawhawjames and they seem to have captured the imagination of the public because I have over 5 million views total so far! As the project continued I spent more and more time and effort to do my best and along the way I have become a fair face painter, if I do say so myself! I have always been creative and this 365 diary gave me lots of workouts for my brain. I missed one day when my cousin passed away but was quite loyal to doing the work daily. I am now in the middle of my second 365 faces! Yes, I am truly crazed :] check it out!”

Here are some still images Kuhn has done. The guy really is creative and there seems to be nothing he won’t try. I’m loving James work and there is a lot of cool stuff he’s done that you can find online. In the meantime, enjoy!

I like his work, some of his face paintings are better than others but he’s very good and getting even better. He found that face painting is something that clicked within him and he kept up with it. His work keeps improving and is very popular. People like Kuhn’s face paintings and so do I!

For something that started out as a New Years resolution ended up as an awesome art career for James Kuhn. I’m looking forward to seeing his second 365 a face a day project when it’s finished.

So what do you think of his “Face Paint Diary?”

Keep On Bloggin’!

More Fun With Optical Illusions ♦ Skulls & Faces

2011-10-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

Because my first blog on optical Illusions of skulls was so popular I thought I’d show you some more

‘s of skulls, faces and similar images to look at and enjoy for Halloween fun. If you want to see more, check out my first blog.

These images are excellent so have a look.

Keep On Bloggin’!

The Day Of The Witches-2011

2011-10-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

How do you say Halloween in Spanish? Roughly translated it means “The day of the witches.”

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It’s great fun, you get to dress up as something else and “be” that character for a whole night! Then it’s time for going out after dark and getting candy. No pressure, it’s the best and I hope you have a blast!

Quotations For Halloween

♦ When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

♦ If a man harbors any sort of fear, it makes him landlord to a ghost. ~Lloyd Douglas

♦ Backward, turn backward,
O Time, in your flight
make me a child again
just for to-night!
~Elizabeth Akers Allen

♦ Nothing beats a haunted moonlit night on All Hallows Eve.... And on this fatal night, at this witching time, the starless sky laments black and unmoving. The somber hues of an ominous, dark forest are suddenly illuminated under the emerging face of the full moon. ~Kim Elizabeth

♦ Hobgoblins know the proper way to dance:
Arms akimbo, loopy legs askew,
Leaping into darkness with delight,
Lusting for the ecstasy of fright,
Open to the charm of horrors new....
~Nicholas Gordon

♦ There is nothing that gives more assurance than a mask. ~Colette

♦ When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.
~Author Unknown

♦ Hark! Hark to the wind! 'Tis the night, they say,
When all souls come back from the far away-
The dead, forgotten this many a day!
~Virna Sheard

♦ A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently; there is a whispering in distant chambers, an unearthly hand presses the nib of the window, the latch rises. Ghosts were created when the first man awoke in the night. ~J.M. Barrie

♦ May Jack-o-lanterns burning bright
Of soft and golden hue
Pierce through the future’s veil and show
What fate now holds for you.
~Author Unknown

♦ They that are born on Halloween shall see more than other folk. ~Saying of unknown origin

♦ True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about but few have seen. ~Author Unknown

♦ Men say that in this midnight hour,
The disembodied have power
To wander as it liketh them,
By wizard oak and fairy stream.
~William Motherwell

♦ I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween. ~Author Unknown

♦ As spirits roam the neighborhoods at night,
Let loose upon the Earth till it be light...
~Nicholas Gordon

♦ Eat, drink and be scary. ~Author Unknown

♦ Nothing on Earth is so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night. ~Steve Almond

♦ At first cock-crow the ghosts must go
Back to their quiet graves below.
~Theodosia Garrison

I hope you liked the quotes as much as I did! For “The Day Of The Witches” I have some more for you to look at.

I hope your Halloween is a happy one at your house! Bwahahahahaha!

Keep On Bloggin’!

The Blue Angels-Fleet Week Photos 2011

2011-10-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

The Blue Angels come to my area once a year and the whole Navy puts on a show over the San Francisco Bay Area (and they get to buzz the city itself for a week before the show.) Practice makes perfect and they have never had one crash in all these years.

The men are excellent pilots whether they are flying the plane that refuels the jets or doing fancy flying in a jet itself and we were lucky to be in San Francisco today so I can share my pictures we took with you.

In the past when I lived in San Francisco I could take pictures of The Blue Angels practicing around the city from my kitchen window. I have some of the best of those under Photo Albums probably the San Francisco album. The fog came in later but I hope you like them as much as we do!

The Columbus Day Parade was going on at the same time.

They actually had to call the show off today on Sunday (but it went off great on Saturday) so we’re lucky we got the shots we did. But everyone still poured downtown and there were a million things going on at once! See the street name?

I hope your weekend was good!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Saturday Afternoon At The Art Gallery

2011-10-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my online art Gallery. Please copy & use freely.

Today we will take a look at some of the Wallpapers I’ve collected by linking my Android phone with my Photo bucket account. I have collected hundreds of images for free, no copyright protection, for my computer or cell phone usage through Zedge.

All of these images can be “Saved Picture as” by alternate clicking on the images with your mouse. Save them to your computer or cell phone & use them yourselves.

Let’s take a look at some of this great art, we really should be drinking champagne, don’t I wish!

I made this with one with my Android phone with two Wallpapers & Photoshop.

This one too.

Now this is just strange as can be, but look at how detailed the work is!

The color in this one vibrates!

Can you not smell the leaves burning?

Halloween is this month.

Nice take on Anime!

“I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.” Pablo Picasso

I did this with a Wallpaper and my Android Photoshop application.

Remember “Little Shop Of Horrors”?

How many super hero’s can you name?

Cool look at the future.

Very nice use of color!

Nice pumpkins you got there!

Nice special effect, see the face?

I still wear these almost everyday and have them in different colors. Mine are vintage but only owned by me.

Happy Halloween!

I love this and it’s always popular.

Time is hard on us all.

Don’t ya just love it?

This guy has a nice pad!

Too bad this artist didn’t include some figures in the trees, but I like this.

This is our ocean.

This is done by curving the straight lines on it and making the circles follow those lines in different sizes and shapes.

Even though these are from my own collection, I have lots of images that were people’s favorites.

This is a “sheep” my computer “The Matrix” made. “Electric Sheep” is a screen saver I’ve used on my computer for the last 15 years. By now I’m getting amazing sheep! Isn’t this nice? You can use Electric Sheep too. Look under “Web Wonders” to find it.

The evil Merry-Go-Round! I swear I see dead people in the dark parts of this!

The Dark Knight.

Last one. If any of these have not already been re-sized by me, you can use them anyway you want.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Home Sweet Home

2011-10-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

Take a look at what some people call “home sweet home.”

How did they build it and look at the way to the grocery store!

Here’s a close up of the cable car; to nowhere! Look at the door way into the rock below with stairs.

Look at this place with the car in front of it. No room for a garage? A road?

A lighthouse for a home would be nice but it looks like it’s sitting on Tinker Toys.

Now this is the best! I have always wanted to live in a tree house and this one has a garden on the top. Think it’s real?

Does this house look like it’s sagging a little in the middle to you?

Cave living at it’s best. Where’s the faux bear rug and club?

This lighthouse is having a very high tide. The sea wall is full of sea!

I think they used the top of our state capitol for the roof. This one gives me a funny feeling, like; “Don’t lose any weight!” That’s one long latter! Ha ha, I can’t help myself!

Now they went too far! Okay you guessed it. These are probably all done with Photoshop. This place comes with a natural air conditioner and makes it’s own ice…until Spring!

These pictures were sent to me in an email so I thought I’d share them with you this Friday night. We actually have our telescope outside right now and are doing a little star gazing while chilling at home. It’s a warm Fall evening.

It’s a little early for giving thanks but I’m thankful my cats and I have a home to call our own so that we might enjoy a night of looking at the stars. Especially after the last year I had! If only life could always be this simple!

“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.” Confucius

Keep On Bloggin’!

Good Night, Sleep Tight; Don’t Leave Bedbugs In Your Home

2011-10-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

Good night, sleep tight,
Wake up bright
In the morning light
To do what's right
With all your might.

I’m sure most of you remember this comforting bed time nursery rhyme. At our house we had a shorter version of it that at the time us kids thought was funny and cooler than the original. That would be; “Good night, sleep tight, Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” We were very young at the time and thought our parents made this up just for us. We had no idea then what a “bedbug” was nor that they were real.

When bed bugs infested our lives last time it changed people’s outlooks on the horrid pests and the nursery rhyme changed.

Good night, sleep tight,
Don’t let the bedbugs bite.
And if they do
Then take your shoe
And knock ‘em ‘til
They’re black and blue!

Not so cute anymore is it? And neither is the new bedbug infestation that we are having NOW. Don’t think you are dirty enough to have them? Dirt has nothing to do with these blood sucking hitch hikers from hell! Your home can be clean and orderly, they don’t care. After a decades-long hiatus, bedbugs are back and bigger than ever.

Having special hooks on the ends of their legs they can cling to ANY material you can pick up and take home with you. It only takes one to start an infestation in your home that will have you screaming with horror as they feed on you, your kids and your pets while you sleep. How creepy is that?

This is a bedbug (image blown up) with it’s egg sacs. The wingless bedbugs range in size from 1 to 7 millimeters, are reddish brown, flat and oval in shape. Fecal droppings (brown or black stains that look like pepper flakes), shed skins, and the tinier translucent eggs and nymphs (juveniles) are evidence of the live pest.

Harder to miss are the bites as they feed off you. They leave itchy red welts behind and they usually leave a few marks in each spot they feed off of. If you slap one in your sleep you may find blood spots on your hands or sheets when you wake up.

If you think your home may harbor bedbugs, then you should check out every crack and crevasse you can find, from the crack behind the baseboards to the folds of drapes and even seams or tears in mattresses or other bedding, clothing, or clutter that may be lying about. If you can fit a credit card edge into the crack, then a bedbug infestation can be hiding within that innocent-looking crack.

Bedbugs are here until we educate ourselves and others about them. You can live bedbug free but you must work at it. That means inspecting your mattress, sheets and inspecting anything you take home for signs of or the bugs themselves. Don’t make the mistake of giving them a home at your place.

Bedbugs are bad all over the world so don’t think you are safe when traveling or you will bring them home from that great vacation you went on. Here is a bedbug infestation map of the US.

95% of the pest control companies surveyed reported a bedbug infestation within the last year—up an astounding 70% from more than a decade ago!

See California? That’s my state and we have a horrible problem with them here. Still, I live in an apartment building and don’t have them so it can be done just have a little faith and work at it.

What can you do if you have these pesky little vampires feeding on you and yours? Start out by going to THE BEDBUG INSPECTORS. There is plenty more online about bedbugs if it’s not the answer to your problems and if you are traveling this holiday season you should read up on what what is suggested.

Just where do you pick up bedbugs from? I bet you will be shocked at the answers.

TOP TEN BEDBUG INFESTATION SPOTS

Public Libraries
Retail Stores
Movie Theaters
Planes, Trains, Buses & Taxi’s
Daycares, Schools & Colleges
Places Of Worship
Business Offices
Landry Facilities
Hospitals & Nursing Homes
Consignment, Thrift & Rental Stores

How about that? For one more good link on bedbugs try BED BUG TV. This site has videos on everything bedbug.

I feel by doing this blog that I am doing my part in helping a horrible situation get better for all of us in the future if we don’t get this under control NOW.

Keep On Bloggin’!

In His Eyes-Part One

2011-10-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

Sweaty, she pulled her black SUV into the Clarion Inn hotel parking lot by Lake Michigan from her night job in the ER and she was bone tired this morning. Her menial job as an orderly at Saint Anthony’s Hospital didn’t give her much money to live on but the job was worth so much more to her than money. Money; that’s what men were for, well, that and other indescribable things. She giggled to herself deliciously.

It was springtime in Michigan City, Indiana. Everything was green and seemed eager to blossom after the long winter. With my window down I could smell the lilacs blooming profusely around this little town nestled against the southern tip of Lake Michigan. It was just starting to get light outside.

The people here were pretty much family orientated people that kept to themselves just the way I like it. It was easy to blend in, even though I was fairly “new in town” and working at hospitals makes people trust me easily and helps me fit in yet be invisible.

This was a special day to look forward to because it was the fruition of all of my work and plans I made for Mr. Weller. I got a thrill as I imagined the look in his eyes at the last moment, the sounds, smells and of course my precious tapes so that I could re-live It all again and again.

At work tonight I’ll get my last supplies from the hospital and to make it sweeter the next two nights I have off. Mr. Weller and I will have a long time to get to know each other. She giggled to herself and lightly jumped out of the SUV. She let herself into number 13 and threw the keys on the desk. She was eager to savor another kill as she caught her reflection in the mirror, she liked how her eyes seemingly glittered in the darkness. She stared at her reflection for a moment enjoying her body. It was a quiet morning but she had work to do before pleasure.

She had met Mr. Gregory Weller in the ER. He was older than she liked but perfect just the same and what great eyes he had! She threw her clothes off humming to herself as she jumped into the hot shower starting to feel the rush, the excitement of another kill sending shivers down her spine. The water made love to her tired muscles. After showering she ate, carefully counting her calories as always.

She was in great shape at 5’7”, only 110 pounds with long black sleek hair and clear blue eyes. It was hard for her NOT to be noticed but she had her ways. She had perfect skin and a porcelain completion from working nights and was 25 years old. She was self taught in martial arts and could run a mile in 9 minutes. Secrecy and surprise are imperative to her success in controlling her subjects with the speed and power she would need to bring a man larger than herself down swiftly and easily with no mistakes.

After her breakfast she took a jog down by Lake Michigan’s sand dunes like she did every day. If it was early enough she could practice her martial arts outside on the beach instead of in her hotel room without fear of being seen. As she ran she reenacted in her head exactly how her weekend was to go with Mr. Weller. Down to the tiniest detail. She wanted to leap with joy but she passed some other joggers so it was back to room 13 for any martial arts practice.

After she got back to her room she finished a short set and got ready for bed. She had no problem with sleeping days as she was used to working nights. With all the adrenaline running through her veins, her workout and with the excitement of the weekend to come she finally tired herself out and fell deep asleep.

She was swimming in a pool for she could see the bottom and sides of it. The water was warm and felt womb-like. She was naked, breathing underwater and didn’t seem concerned about it. As she tried to surface all she could do is look upwards and try to see what was on the surface. The surface was very bright and hard to look at.

She felt almost too calm, like she was drugged. As she peered upwards she could see eyes peering down at her in the water. Suddenly body parts were floating in the water all around her and the pool water was turning dark red. She smelled blood! As she tried to scream her lungs filled with the thick stuff and she could not breathe now. Arms were pulling at her, dragging her downward. She was chocking and found herself looking into clear blue eyes, not unlike her own eyes and they…..looked dead? She was dead! She woke up drenched in bed with her heart pounding in her ears! It was already 8pm and she had to be at work at 10pm! She leaped out of bed and raced to the shower.

I decided to write my first online story in parts (tee hee) called “In His Eyes” and I hope you will enjoy it! I will add to it once a week at least. Please let me know what you think about it or if you want more of the same. Have a good read and a great week my friends!

I’m seriously writing my first book now and the more I write the better I get and the closer I get to finishing and (hopefully) publishing it. My first book. So I could take all the comments you can give me on what you think about my writing because I want to really make this work and I’m not just speaking of poetry. Hugs and kisses!

Keep On Bloggin’!

The Secret History Of Alcoholism By James Graham

2011-09-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

“VESSELS OF RAGE ENGINES OF POWER” is a book written by James Graham about the damage caused by alcoholism: human behavior at its ugliest and most frightening. In its pages parents rage at frightened defenseless children. World famous literary lions use their writing talent to malign their innocent parents. Trusted intelligence officers betray their country's secrets and a powerful spy-catcher willfully and wrongly accuses his loyal colleagues of treachery. Political scoundrels malign exemplarity public servants. Modern serial killers entice victims into lethal traps. Ancient tyrants torture and slaughter thousands of their subjects.

Based on decades of research, Graham takes the reader on an eye-popping tour of human history and shows that every one of these horrific characters (and many others) was an alcoholic. He also convinces the reader that, contrary to orthodox interpretation, their addiction to alcohol actually caused the diabolical behavior. Here are some of Graham's subjects: Ancient tyrants Alexander the Great, Ivan the Terrible, and Henry VIII. Murderers Ted Bundy, Richard Speck, and John Wilkes Booth. Traitors Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean. Political scoundrels Joseph McCarthy, Huey Long, and Andrew Johnson. Writers Eugene O'Neill, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In what is surely his most provocative chapter, Graham solves the twentieth century's most baffling mystery: Why did Joseph Stalin murder twenty-five million loyal citizens? His claim that Stalin's alcoholism is backed by overwhelming evidence, some of it provided by famous eye-witnesses Nikita Krushechev, Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill.

"I found VESSELS OF RAGE easy to read and it proved to be an entertaining and informative description of alcoholism and the personality characteristics of well-known individuals who James Graham is convinced suffered from alcohol dependency. His argument for the presence of alcoholism in many historical figures is convincing, and the reader will acquire a good understanding of the symptoms of this disorder and how they influenced the lives of such notables as Joseph Stalin, Alexander the Great, Henry Ford, John Wayne Gacy and other serial killers, and many other well-known, and not so well-known, sufferers from alcoholism.

"The thrust of Graham's argument is that the personality traits frequently found in alcoholics produce individuals who have a tremendous need for ego satisfaction, and therefore not only seek power, but also abuse it. Quite correctly, in my opinion, he emphasizes that when alcoholics stop drinking, many of their symptoms persist including, in many, the pathological need for power. Until significant changes are made in the personality, particularly the ego, many alcoholics remain severely problematic. He makes this point extremely well and illustrates it be his references to writers, artists, movie stars and selected other individuals.

"Reversing the usual question -- Why do so many authors have alcohol problems? -- he argues that writing (has) particular appeal for self-centered alcoholics... traitors, serial killers, business executives and politicians draw similar attention.

"Graham uses dozens of case histories to illustrate the enormous influence of alcoholism has had on society -- one far greater than previously suspected or admitted. When an individual of no particular consequence or ability suffers from the disease, it's bad enough; they affect themselves, their family, friends, co-workers, pets and whomever else they may encounter. But when someone of intelligence and ability, and with access to power (whether it be as a writer, a corporation executive, a politician, etc.) the damage they can cause is much worse and every bit as likely. This book grabs readers' attention from page one and compels them to see alcohol and the world in an entirely different way."

"Graham's examples are legion and arresting- Alexander the Great, Henry VIII, Ivan the Terrible, the composer Beethoven, writers from Poe to Wolfe, President Grant, Admiral Byrd, Senators McCarthy and Tower, the English traitors Burgess, Maclean, Philby and Blunt, Ty Cobb, Joan Crawford, Tallulah Bankhead, even astronaut "Buzz" Aldrin. He devotes an entire chapter to the case of Joseph Stalin who, he remarks, began his bloody purges only after he was securely in power, and did nothing for eight successive days after Hitler's blitzkrieg began- because, Graham argues, he was on a bender. "... his insight is arresting and provocative."

James Graham welcomes inquiries or comments. Snail mail: Mr. James Graham, P.O. Box 142, Lexington VA, 24450, USA.

He argues that the emergence of complex animals from simpler multicellular ancestors must have involved a mechanism that was exclusive to complex animals, something that would account for the great precision required to construct the complex organ systems found in only in the bilateria.

He postulates that cancer killed uncountable numbers of immature animals and concludes that the resulting accumulation of defenses against the disease enabled the emergence of complexity. In all evolving animal lineages selection favored utmost precision in the construction of all cells in order to avoid death of the organism resulting from imprecision in a single cell. This imperative of exactness at the level of individual somatic cells permitted the emergence of complex tissue, organs and organisms.

Without meticulous construction of individual cells complex organs could not exist. Without cancer selection multicellular life would not have evolved beyond the level of plants and jellyfish, organisms which, according to Graham's theory, never experienced lethal cancer.

This was a book review that I did not write. There’s a link at the start of my blog for more information on the book and how to get it. Graham wrote a wonderful, insightful book and it’s a great read for people wanting to look into the secret of alcoholism and the wheels of thought that turn into rage and power. Power that can be destructible!

I have not finished this book yet but I am reading it and it’s quite amazing! I think his correlation with alcohol and rage is so revealing! I have had a few alcoholics in my family and I can tell you first hand that when they quit using alcohol they still like their power trips and have a tendency to rage. One of them has had cancer a few times now besides. I pray for her.

I broke a tooth last week so yes I’ve been offline a lot recently. OMG even with insurance it’s costing me at least a thousand dollars on my side. Jeeze, I trust it will be more before we are done. I thought I’d show you what I’m getting done with the broken tooth. Cool, huh? Feb. 7th my “crown” will be done and put on. It better be made of gold for that amount! Then you’ll have to call me “Queen Bekkie Of Wonderland!” Tee hee!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Twenty Brilliant Quotes

2011-09-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

I love reading as much as writing! I have an application on my Android phone called “Brilliant Quotes” and it’s free so if you have an Android you may want to check it out.
Get inspired!

1. “Advertising is legalized lying.” H.G. Wells

2. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller

3. “Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” Abraham Lincoln

4. “Ideas come from everything.” Alfred Hitchcock

5. “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” Bill Gates

6. “I accept chaos, I’m not sure whether it accepts me.” Bob Dylan

7. “Moral indignation-jealousy with a halo.” H.G. Wells

8. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Buddha

9. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

10. “To be honest, one must be inconsistent.” H.G. Wells

11. “You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down.” Charlie Chaplin

12. “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Woody Allen

13. “A truth that’s told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.” William Blake

14. “The schools ain’t what they used to be and never was.” Will Rogers

15. “Cynicism is humor in ill health.” H.G. Wells

16. “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” Walt Disney

17. “It is good to love many things, for therein lies strength, and whatsoever loves much can accomplish much, and what is done with love is well done.” Vincent Van Gogh

18. “Hell, there are no rules here-we’re trying to accomplish something.” Thomas A. Edison

19. “Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” Douglas Adams

20. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” Plato

Keep On Bloggin’!

Steve Kreuscher Illusion Pencil Drawings

2011-09-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Check out these wondrous paintings by artist Steve Kreuscher. This may make your Wednesday a little more fun!

Aren’t these just beautiful? You can find more of Steve’s art (over 100 more images) by doing an online search for his website. I sure do love art, don’t you?

Below is an optical illusion called: Benham’s Disk. It was invented by C.E. Benham and it’s actually a black and white color generator! See how many colors you can see by staring at it. This was sold as toy by Benham in 1894.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Thing Are Not Getting Better Especially For Minorities And Women

2011-09-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

This news story today was totally taken from USA Today News under top news stories. It makes my blood boil to read how bad it is and how beat down we are in this country now! I am just another person losing my means to pay my bills and picking out a trash can to call my own. No kidding!
Family court might as well of called me a lazy, co-habituating bitch that needs to get a job! She ended my alimony in December 2010 and I will have no money to live off of and no job offers. I’m stuck with a man I don’t want to live with now also. He’s my room mate and the judge told me he should pay half my bills because we are living together. Good lord!
There is no common law marriage in this state. My X has been married once since me, had a child, got divorced and bought a bigger house. He has a job! Don’t you think I’m a special case either! Read on….

Household Income Drops To Lowest Point Since '96

The median income of U.S. households fell 2.3% in 2010 to the lowest level since 1996 after adjusting for inflation, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The annual report also said the number of families living in poverty rose 2.6 million to 46.2 million, the largest increase since Census began keeping track 52 years ago. Long-term unemployment has left millions of people out of work and struggling to find jobs.

"It's all about joblessness," said Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for the Research of Poverty at the University of Wisconsin. "Young guys don't have work, and poverty would be even higher if so many 25- to 34-year-olds weren't living at home with their parents."

The weak economy has driven household income down for three straight years, to $49,445 in 2010, a total 6.4% decline since the recession began in December 2007. The government says the recession ended in June 2009.

Poor people and minorities were hit hardest. Median income for black households fell 3.6% to $32,206 while white household income dropped 1.3% to $54,620.

Income fell least for the most affluent households — down 1.2% to $180,810 in 2010 for the top 5% of households. Income declines got increasingly large down the income ladder. The bottom fifth of households — those making $20,000 or less in 2010 — saw incomes decline 3.8% after inflation.

"There is a widening of the gap between the extreme top and bottom," said Edward Welniak, chief of income statistics at the Census.

The release of the data comes as President Obama pushes Congress to pass a $447 billion jobs creation proposal that he unveiled last week. Obama was in Ohio on Tuesday selling his jobs plan in the key battleground state.

Katharine Abraham, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, speaking at a forum in Washington on Tuesday, said that the increase in poverty runs parallel with the rise in unemployment -- about 1.8 million adults did not work in 2010 than a year earlier.

"Clearly the pace of job growth needs to be faster," Abraham said. "We need to be aggressive about boosting growth and adding jobs.

Hard times are forcing people to "double-up" — live with their parents or other family members, said Trudi Renwick, chief of poverty statistics.

The number of households doubling-up grew from 19.7 million in 2007 to 21.8 million in spring 2011, she said. The number of adults ages 25-34 still living with their parents was especially notable, she said.

The report showed that a record number of women live in poverty and extreme poverty. The poverty rate among women climbed to 14.5% in 2010 from 13.9% in 2009, the highest in 17 years, according to an analysis by the National Women's Law Center.

The extreme poverty rate for women jumped to an all-time high of 6.3% in 2010 from 5.9% in 2009.

"The record numbers of women and families living in extreme poverty and without health insurance should send an urgent wake-up call to Congress to tackle the immediate deficit facing this nation — the lack of jobs — by acting swiftly on President Obama's job creation proposals and passing a robust package that will put millions of American women and men back to work," said Joan Entmacher, NWLC vice president for Family Economic Security.

Dwanna Myree, 38, of Detroit has a degree in accounting but has scraped by with temporary jobs and unemployment insurance for three years. Her region, the Midwest, has suffered a 13.6% drop in household income since 2000, double the national average.

"It's totally frustrating," said the single mother of three.

A family of four is considered in poverty if income is $22,314 or below. The poverty measures cash income before taxes. A measure that includes the value of Medicaid, food stamps and other government programs will be released in October.

Tim Ticknor of Reno was once a successful car salesman who brought in nearly $100,000 a year. In 2010 as car sales continued to tank, Ticknor made about $30,000. In January 2011, his dealership went bankrupt.

Since then, Ticknor, 45, has moved his family in with his mother-in-law. His only income comes from a few days a week as a day laborer — a job that typically pays about $55 a day, $20 of which is spent on gas.

"I used to make tons of money," he said. "It's difficult. Just surviving is difficult."

The report showed the share of people without health insurance rose from 16.1% to 16.3%, 49.9 million people. The number of people with private insurance fell while the number covered by government programs increased.

Congress passed a health care overhaul last year to deal with rising numbers of the uninsured. Though the main provisions do not take effect until 2014, one aspect taking effect in late 2010 allowed young adults until age 26 to be covered under their parents' health insurance.

Brett O'Hara, chief of the Health and Disability Statistics branch at the Census Bureau, noted that the uninsured rate for adults ages 18 to 24 declined last year, from 29.3% to 27.2%. It was the only age group that posted a decrease.

"For the change in uninsured, the law change certainly could be a factor," he said.

The Census figures indicated that the percentage of women under 65 without health insurance climbed from 19.2% in 2009 to 19.7% in 2010, the highest rate recorded in more than a decade. The number of women younger than 65 without health care coverage increased to 19 million.

Broken down by state, Mississippi had the highest share of poor people, at 22.7%. It was followed by Louisiana, the District of Columbia, Georgia, New Mexico and Arizona. On the other end of the scale, New Hampshire had the lowest share, at 6.6%.

Contributing: John Wisely, Detroit Free Press; Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal; Aamer Madhani in Washington; Associated Press.

This is what’s killing us people! We can’t afford to live because we have to deal with this reality while trying to carve out a decent enough life so that we don’t have to commit suicide to afford to live. I’m so pissed off and if I have my way I will never pay taxes again since I don’t seem to benefit from anything the government has to offer! We get one time only to live and I feel it sucks! Not all of us have families willing to help either and those people hit the streets hard.

I can’t help but be angry and fed up. As you know I try hard to be positive and happy. I don’t want to shove my blogs down anyone’s throat I just happen to like to write. I used to hope I could make a living somehow online but jobs like that just elude me.

I know it’s just more bad news, but we should pay attention to it. Is there nothing we can do? Don’t tell me about voting the government is weak and ineffective. I notice more and more people don’t respond to the bad news anymore. If we ignore it, it isn’t going to go away!

Keep On Bloggin’!

Eonvrye Taht Can Raed Tihs Rsaie Yuor Hnad

2011-09-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

I have gotten this in emails, and even wrote a short blog on it myself once. Shame on me because I didn’t do my so important research or I would of never bought into this in the first place. Time to put an end to it’s ill-fated history and just have fun with it.

Eonvrye taht can raed tihs rsaie yuor hnad.

Isn't it interesing that only boys have their hands up? (Not my quote.)

Only a certain kind of mind can read this but I refuse to believe that only men can do it because I have no problem! I think “word scrambling” is fun and somewhat revealing but what is different about the girl’s versus the boys reading this?

It’s amazing what the mind can do and the zillions of things it does for us everyday without a glitch is fantastic! However, I don’t feel that male and female minds differ at all. Not the hard-wiring anyway and my doctor would back me up on that. Tee hee!

When it comes down to it our brains are wired just like an electronic circuit, there’s no difference except they are an organ and send chemical signals. Those chemical signals still run along pathways in the brain just like current through a circuit in a computer but that is where the resemblance ends. No computer could ever replace our hard working brains.

Oddly enough after seeing the black and white photo above in an email talking about “word scrambling” and then no reference as to why the girl’s didn’t have their hands up also gave me the clue I needed to de-bunk this whole Cambridge word scrambling thing.

It isn’t true. I’m not the only person who believes this isn’t true that I found. Cambridge University never did a study on word scrambling and the black and white picture with the kids was thrown in as good measure whether it was explained or not. I could not find this picture with any studies on word scrambling and I would bet a “man” wrote this information into Wikipedia in the first place. Tee hee!

This next statement was also untrue or I failed at finding it, but there is no studies done at Cambridge University that bore this information out:

If you can raeid tihs elaisy, you do hvae a secapil mnid for srue. Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. What kind of special? Are you kidding me? Lol!

Then the statement that always shows up on sites, blogs that claim this was a real study:

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Before I put this to rest FOR GOOD (I will never blog on it again) the real reason you can read the word scrambling is because by putting the right letters at the beginning and end of each word you are stimulating what you learned already in life. It’s called “how to read.”

In grade school you are taught how to read and how to use those words properly. (English class.) After learning this your brain can remember whole words and more by then so if you can identify the word by a few letters and where it’s being used it’s a snap. Remember I said the brain was an incredible circuit. Ta da! You can read word scrambling.

I’d like to get some response on this so if you could leave a comment telling me whether you can or can’t read the word scrambling and what sex you are that would be awesome. I’ll print the results out later for you if I get enough data.

I did find a great thing that was true about reading the word scrambling. It’s the same truth about being able to see certain optical illusions. If you can do it, it’s a good indicator that you won’t get Alzheimer’s later in life.

While I’m talking about incorrect facts…. all of you bloggers and people doing research online. I have a pet peeve and it’s with Wikipedia. I don’t use it personally. There have been one too many times where I have found the wrong information or at the least incorrect facts. Yes, some people might like a place where they can correct or add to information that other people are relying on. But when I look something up I want the facts from the horses mouth. I want the real goods and Wikipedia just isn’t it.

I’m just saying, if you want to be taken seriously in your writing you should do enough research so that you know what you’re talking about especially if it’s something new and be careful about adding facts or figures you’re not sure of. Have a lovely week and enjoy yourselves!

Keep On Bloggin’!

The Humorous Twelve Steps And 911

2011-09-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Humorous Twelve Steps

1. I decided I could handle my emotional problems if other people would just quit trying to ruin my life.

2. I firmly believe that there is no greater power than myself, and anyone who said so was insane.

3. I made a decision to remove my will and my life from God, who didn’t understand me anyhow.

4. I made a searching and thorough moral inventory of everyone I know, so, they couldn’t fool me and take advantage of my good nature.

5. I sought those people out and tried to get them to admit to me, by God the exact nature of their wrongs.

6. I became willing to help these people get rid of these defects of character.

7. I was humble enough to ask these people to remove their shortcomings.

8. I kept a list of all the people who had harmed me and waited patiently for a chance to get even with them.

9. I got even with these people whenever possible, except when to do so would get me into trouble too.

10. I continued to take everyone’s inventory and when they were wrong, which was most of the time, I promptly make them admit it.

11. Sought through the concentration of my will-power to get God, who didn’t understand me anyhow, to see that my ideas were the best and He ought to give me the power to carry them out.

12. Having maintained my emotional problems for twenty four years with these steps, I can thoroughly recommend them to others who don’t want to lost their hard-earned status, but wish to be left alone to practice neurosis in everything they do for the rest of their lives.

*Borrowed from the Anonymous Programs

Today is the tenth anniversary of 911 and I am sorry for everyone’s losses in NYC, the Pentagon and the world. Also all the people who’s lives were touched somehow because of the chain reactions of 911. God Bless us all and may we survive what is yet to come.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Talented Cat Does His Routine

2011-09-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is Stupid Videos. com. This cat is talented and smart! Check it out and you’ll see for yourselves! I think cats are so intelligent, they are the best! They can do just about anything and they’re so smart and beautiful! What awesome animals cats are.

Here’s some nice images of cats to enjoy along with the video, “talented cat does his routine” and I hope you like them.

I especially like this image, if I had my way I’d be a cat and this would be me turning into one! A black cat of course. Tee hee!

Keep On Bloggin’!