Final Thoughts Of The Night: "What is Real"...

Tomorrow we celebrate all the brave men and women who have served and are currently serving in our military. I'll post some info about what you can do to help our troops , their families and our veterans. I'll be writing about a very taboo subject... senior abuse. This story hits close to home. I'm still looking for a SOTD, so please send in your pick for a "power ballad", see the list posted in today's SOTD. If you have a QOTD, send that in too.

Don't forget to check out our charity of the day: PAWS: http://www.paws.org/

"PAWS successfully rehabilitated and returned 11 Common Murres to the wild after two weeks of exhaustive care. PAWS is still providing critical care for many weakened seabirds who were rescued after a toxic, coastal algal bloom. Watch the murre release and find out how you can still help." Have a good night!

"What is Real" passage from the "Velveteen Rabbit."

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Margery Williams

Thanksgiving menu QOTD, asked by Great Mind- Marilyn...

How many of you make the green bean casserole? Do you use the canned beans or the frozen beans? There is a big controversy in my family as to which is better.
I prefer the canned beans. I am not a big fan of frozen beans. It is the only canned vegetable in our house. All others are fresh or frozen.

SOTD-"Don't Stop Believing" by Journey picked by Great Mind-Heather..

I love this song! Good pick, Heather. Remember the theme this week is "power ballads." Heather sent me a list you can choose from. http://www.mymusiclists.com/songs/best-power-ballads.asp


Did you know?

"In 2007, the song gained national press for its use in the final scene of HBO's The Sopranos from the series finale "Made in America". Steve Perry was initially hesitant in allowing the song to be used in The Sopranos but later agreed.^[6] The Sopranos ending was later parodied by The Daily Show, ESPN, WCBS-FM (when flipped from Jack FM back to Oldies), Celebrity Apprentice, a campaign video for Hillary Clinton^[7][8] and for the final episode of Tony Martin's Get This radio show. The Pittsburgh Pirates parodied the Sopranos ending on their Jumbotron as "the final episode of 'The Parrot'", complete with the Journey hit.

In 2008, George Lamond released a cover of the song. Kanye West began playing the song in dedication to his late mother during his 2007/2008 legs of his Glow in the Dark Tour."

Good News Story Of The Day, "Jilted Bride Turns reception into party for Seniors"...

"For Teanne Harris, who’d spent months planning her fun and festive October 31st wedding, Halloween was meant to be the happiest day of her life. But not long before the planned nuptials, the groom got cold feet and backed out.

Harris, of course, was devastated. But after finding out that she wouldn’t be able to get a refund on any of her deposits for the big day, she and her mother decided to make the best of a bad situation—and donate the entire reception to a senior citizens’ center across the street from the catering hall in Des Plaines, Ill., where it was meant to be held.

“She came in one day and said she wanted to make a donation,” Mary Eichenfeld, the resident services director of the Asbury Court Retirement Community, told the New York Daily News. “I don’t think she knew anybody here, and we don’t get offers like that. So we were thrilled and so were our residents. It came out of the blue.”

Despite Harris’ heartbreak, she turned the would-be wedding into a wonderful costume party for the group of seniors, complete with fun decorations, a senior-friendly buffet, and a DJ who spun oldies tunes all night. The residents dressed up in costumes and had a blast at their impromptu Halloween party—and Harris even made an appearance at the event, smiling and chatting with her new friends.

After the big Halloween bash, Harris took off for her Hawaii honeymoon, sans groom, to enjoy a beautiful beachside vacation. Though it may not be at the top of her mind, Eichenfeld is hoping that Harris’ Hawaiian stay provides an opportunity for a new romance. “I say good for her. I hope she finds a nice guy who deserves her.”

Today's charity pick is: PAWS, click link below to find out more.

http://www.paws.org/

Watch PAWS in action:

Ten Questions With Great Mind-Mibi..

• What color was your first car? red Toyota.

• Favorite fictional character? Poisiden - the Greek Gods.

• Nobel peace prize or an Oscar, Grammy , Tony and Emmy? Noble Prize.

• If you could have another career what would it be? I was going to be a lawyer growing up or some sort of criminal justice person but would also love to be anthropologist and study ancient Greece or Egypt or be a history teacher

• Where was your best vacation? Miami or New york city both great vacays.

• Oprah or Tyra? oprah.

• What is a name you like but would never name your kid? cartman.

• Best book you ever read? A short story called "the man who lived underground"

• It’s a snow day what are you doing? Inside with hot cocoa looking at the pretty snow.

• Sweet treat or salty snacks? both.

"Fox News Blaming Obama For “Terror Attack” At Fort Hood"

I thought it was irresponsible for the media to report that the shooter was chanting about his religion as he shot people. What was the point of adding that to the story? Since 9-11 there has been a lot of anti-Muslim sentiment in this country and putting that out there, just added fuel to the fire; it gives people with twisted minds an excuse to continue with their hate.



Read more here:
http://www.newshounds.us/2009/11/10/here_we_go_fox_news_blaming_obama_for_terror_attack_at_fort_hood.php

Thanks to blogger friend Holly for the video.

Excellent coverage about the "Stupak Amendment." by Rachel.

This was really great! Rachel told us the in's and outs of the amendment.

Anti-choice, anti-gay , protesters, protest outside of Obama's daughters school..

"Westboro Baptist Church, the fringe-of-the-fringe anti-gay group famous for protesting at military funerals and claiming that God is punishing the country for its tolerance of homosexuality, was spotted this morning protesting outside Sidwell Friends, the school attended by Sasha and Malia Obama.

Protesters were carrying signs with anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-Obama slogans, slowing down traffic all along Wisconsin Avenue this morning.

One member, Megan Phelps-Roper, posted a picture on Twitter of the protest."
Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/09/westboro-sidwell

Fort Hood victims family reaches out to Muslims..

"On Monday, the family of one of the victims offered a hand of support to the Muslim community. Michael Cahill, a physician assistant at the base, was the only civilian to be killed in the attacks, and his family spoke to CBS News to denounce the scapegoating of Muslims.

"You can't blanket a whole group of people. There's extremists in every religion, and there's extremists all over the world," said Cahill's daughter, Kerry. "And I don't think that we can blanket a whole group of people when this man obviously was ill, I think."

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Final thoughts of the night: "The Road Not Taken"

It was a beautiful fall day today, I hope we have more days like this before winter arrives.
Tomorrow we will have a SOTD picked by Great Mind-Heather and a QOTD asked by Great Mind- Marilyn. Don't forget to check out the charity pick below and have a good night!



"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

Great Mind-Susieq's Entertainment Report & QOTD..

Is an original idea so much to ask for? Apparently in the entertainment business it is. Between sequels, prequels, remakes, spin offs, franchises and plain old copy cat projects Hollywood seems to have no desire to produce anything that hasn't already been done before.

On television we have three CSI's, 2 Law and Orders (at one time there was FOUR on the air), 2 NCIS's (which came from JAG), an updated 90210 and Melrose Place and all the assorted reality shows. Even the highly rated CBS show the Mentalist is a copy of the USA show Psych. Not a lot of originality there.

In movie theaters this year we've had sequels (Angels and Demons and Transformers), remakes (Fame) and re releases (Toy Story). Yes, most made a lot of money so I guess we can expect more of the same in the coming months.

But for my money the most unoriginal idea right now is vampires. They're everywhere. Books, movie screens, television all have blood suckers. At one time vampires were something different but Hollywood does what it always does, it bled the well dry. I'm not a fan of Dracula wannabes but even the most fervent vampire lovers has to think enough is enough.

Hollywood uses that age-old argument that they're just giving the public what they want but that's a cop out. When Lost premiered 5 years ago it was something different. Slumdog Millionaire was unlike any other movie in recent memory. This year the film Precious is definitely unlike every other movie being released. Studios some times take chances on projects but they always seem to be reluctant to try anything risky unless a big name, such as Oprah with Precious, is willing to speak out for the project.

I'm always open to sampling entertainment which thinks outside the box but my choices lately are limited. So tell me Great Minds, which movie, television show or book would you recommend as something different to enjoy?

SOTD-"I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner..

This weeks SOTD theme is: "power ballads." If anyone has a list of power ballads please post it, I couldn't find one. This is one of my favorites from the 80's. Don't forget to send in your requests.

Did you know?

"Written by Mick Jones, with some degree of uncredited contribution by Lou Gramm,^[3] and produced by Jones and Alex Sadkin, it was the first single released from the album Agent Provocateur (1984). The song features backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir (of the GMWA), Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday, and the Thompson Twins. The choir appears in the song's music video.

"I Want to Know What Love Is" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on January 15, 1985, and stayed there for three weeks. It reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on February 2, 1985, where it stayed for two weeks. It was Foreigner's first and only Pop chart-topper in either country, although the band had four #1 Mainstream Rock and one #1 Adult Contemporary radio hits in the U.S. This was the band's third of four #1 singles on the Mainstream Rock chart. The song spent five weeks at #1 in Australia, and also hit the top of the charts in Canada, Norway and Sweden, peaking at #2 in Switzerland and South Africa.

The song was also issued as a 12" single with a slightly longer time length of 6:23. This version contains a slightly longer intro and an extended vocal chorus/ad-lib-to-fade ending."

Good News Story Of The Day, "Brave teenager rescues one, then another"...

"LACHLAN Edwards, 15, had already rescued one man when he swam straight back into the rip at Point Impossible on the weekend to save a drowning woman. Struggling behind the break of the waves, she had taken in a lot of water and was too exhausted to keep fighting the current. ''She was a bit panicky, she was like 'someone please help me', and I said, 'I'm here now. You can hold on to me if you want','' Lachlan said. He grabbed her arm and tried to swim her through the pounding waves. She realised how young he was and told him to swim back to safety without her. ''I kept assuring her that I could get back with her and she kept saying, 'leave me here, swim back, don't put yourself in danger' From the small crowd on the beach near Torquay, someone phoned police.

When leading senior constables Justin Joseph and Kelly Wray arrived, they saw Lachlan and the woman about 70 metres out. Leading Senior Constable Joseph stripped to his underpants and socks and ran into the water. He said he was surprised to see such a young rescuer and was immediately impressed. ''She was distraught; she kept saying 'I'm going to drown, I'm going to drown'.

He was beyond his years, he relaxed her,'' Leading Senior Constable Joseph said. The water was about four metres deep and Lachlan was becoming exhausted, trying to break through the rip with the woman. Police believe the woman had swum out to try to rescue the first man, who was being helped by another man when Lachlan initially responded to his scream. ''They got a bit stuck so I went out to help them,'' Lachlan said. ''I brought him back in but then I realised there was another woman who'd already gone to help this guy.'' Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/brave-teenager-rescue...

Today's charity pick is: Toys For Tots, click link below to find out more info.
http://www.toysfortots.org/

Ten Questions with Great Mind- Marilyn...

1. What color was your first car?
White Ford Convertible.


2. Favorite fictional character?

Charlotte in Charlotte's Web. ( It's a Grandmother thing )

3. Nobel peace prize , Oscar, Grammy , Tony or Emmy?

Oscar...it is more fun to watch the winners on TV, esp.this coming season, with Alex Baldwin and Steve Martin.


4. If you could have another career what would it be?

Medical Research.


5. Where was your best vacation?

Disney World with all my family, before they all grew up.


6. Oprah or Tyra?

Oprah.


7. What is a name that you like but would never name your kid?

Todd............Sarah.


8. Best book you ever read?

The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock. I went through 3 books with three children.


9. It’s a snow day what are you doing?

Fire in the fireplace, a good book or music.... Count my blessings that I have a reliable driveway snow plow service.


10. Sweet treat or salty snacks?

Salty… however, I can’t eat just one.

Questions written by Great Mind-Mibi.