Flip-flops

"to flip-flop, or not to flip-flop"

Did the President accuse the Senator?



Or did the media attack the incumbent?



Whatever! the campaign is over.

But thanks to the the national championship Northwestern University women's lacrosse team flip-flops made it to the White House.



How were we to know that what may have started in a garage with a tire would morph into a pleasant respite from the war, Hurricane Emily, London bombings, Supreme Court confirmations, and other worldly concerns.

Flip - Hooray! for the one of the most comfortable forms of political footwear.

Flop - One recent study showed more and more problems tied to the casual footwear, citing a 15-percent increase in flip-flop-related injuries, such as back pain, knee problems and numbing of the toes.

Our best bet might be to kick the flip-flop habit off every once in awhile. Limiting how often we use flip-flops might save us years of misery down the road.

Act Your Age

Acting Their Age

According to David J. Ekerdt, director of the Gerontology Center at the University of Kansas, who coined the term busy ethic in a 1986 paper, there is an expectation that old age should be filled with activity. "Contemplation and inactivity is highly suspect all through life," he said.

Dr. Ekerdt said that when he used to interview retired couples for his research, "The wives would express dismay about their husbands, saying 'He just sits around and reads all day.' " That would hardly seem to be a common complaint now.

Take Jagger and Richards for instance. The Rolling Stones announced plans last week for another world tour. Mick Jagger will be 62 when the tour begins in August, and Keith turns 62 in December. While they may be aging rockers, they are also something else: active seniors.

But it's not just money that drives Mr. Jagger and Mr. Richards - and Charlie Watts, 63, and Ron Wood, the baby of the group at 57 - to keep performing.

"That's what they know how to do," said Nancy Morrow-Howell, a professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. "They're going to continue to do it."

So put your iPod earplugs in and crank up "Satisfaction".

Let's hear it for all those 60+ teenagers who know how to do it.

Fatal Attraction To Sideshows

P. T. Barnum



Tsunami Disaster



Terri Schiavo



John Paul II



Prince Rainier

Has death become a reality show?

Kevin Pittsnogle - Mountaineer

Pittsnogle Fever

Pittsnogle, oddly euphonious. Pittsnogle, can you say it without giggling?

Pittsnogle, how many different ways you can use it a sentence?

Pittsnogle, what comes to mind? colorful tattoos? an uneven haircut? a scruffy goatee? a married collegian? a 6-foot-11 junior forward who does not like to play under the basket? a West Virginia player actually from West Virginia?

Have you been Pittsnogled yet?

March Madness. What fun.

Is B.C. history?

You Say Tomato And I Say…Tomahto

Whether the tomato is fruit or vegetable is almost like the story of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Now a new debate - should classroom instructors change B.C. to B.C.E. for Before Common Era and A.D. to C.E., for Common Era?

Just maybe Ira had it right, “Let's call the whole thing off.”

What's it all about, Dubya?

In his second inaugural address, President George W. Bush used the word "tyranny" five times, "liberty" 15 and "freedom" 27. What do these words mean to you, Mr. President?

President Bush pledged to reform "great institutions to serve the needs of our time." What “great institutions” do you have in mind, Mr. President?

President Bush stated that "... it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time." If “it” is freedom and liberty, how do you plan to spread these ideals, Mr. President?

President Bush promised that U.S. relations with other countries would turn on how decently they treat their own people. How would you define “decently”, Mr. President?

Let intelligent discourse lead the way and you will find your answers, Mr. President.



Alfie

What's it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give
or are we meant to be kind?
And if only fools are kind, Alfie,
then I guess it's wise to be cruel.
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,
what will you lend on an old golden rule?
As sure as I believe there's a heaven above, Alfie,
I know there's something much more,
something even non-believers can believe in.
I believe in love, Alfie.
Without true love we just exist, Alfie.
Until you find the love you've missed you're nothing, Alfie.
When you walk let your heart lead the way
and you'll find love any day, Alfie, Alfie.

The fellows in the Guinness beer commerical have it right

For the Love of Beer

Sometimes when I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, "It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
Babe Ruth

An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his
fools.
Ernest Hemingway

When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.
Paul Hornung

24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not.
H.L. Mencken

When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we
fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!
George Bernard Shaw

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Benjamin Franklin

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
Dave Barry

Remember "I" before "E", except in Budweiser.
Professor Irwin Corey

To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a "support group." Salvation in a can!
Leo Durocher

Maybe Scrooge Had It Right

Many schools are confused about what to do in December.

Since President George W. Bush’s first run for the Presidency, there has been an emphasis on the faith-based point of view and an intense interest in spirituality. This desire to understand religious traditions and to be in touch with a spiritual core appears to have penetrated the schoolhouse. But with this infiltration deep emotions have been triggered because public schools have been a place where we define ourselves as a people.

With Christmas becoming synonymous with the cash register and not the crèche, some parents have expressed the desire that their offspring be allowed to share some of their childhood memories, such as, a big Christmas tree right in the classroom or the belting out of carols with their classmates.

But what are school administrators to do? Perhaps administrators need to call on the Grinch to help solve their dilemma. Then they can "take the path of least resistance" and ban all holiday celebrations.

Out of Bounds

"We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our games," N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern said, "and that one of those boundaries, which has always been immutable, is the boundary that separates the fans from the court. And players cannot lose control and go into the stands. As a corollary, we have to hold fans responsible for their antisocial behavior as well."

When was the boundary breached?

In the Roman Colosseum, when the plebeians turned their thumbs down? At the 1936 Berlin games, when Hitler snubbed Jesse Owens? Or last Friday when the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and the Detroit fans brawled at Detroit's Palace of Auburn Hills?


Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest in the stands.

An athlete must be able to withstand the slings and arrows of a fan's remarks, and even a beer shower. No matter what happens, you just have to suck it up.

Bounded by the team bench, the athlete has no place in the stands.

To Shock Or Not To Shock

On October 20th, a Miami-Dade County police officer used a stun gun on a 6-year-old boy in the Kelsey Pharr Elementary School principal's office.

The boy was shocked with 50,000 volts because he was wielding a piece of glass and threatening to hurt himself.

Is shooting children with Taser stun guns acceptable?

FYI - How Stun Guns Work

Stun guns are a very effective non-lethal self defense tool. They use high voltage and low amperage to temporarily disable an attacker for several minutes. Stun guns do not rely on pain for results. The energy stored in the stun gun is dumped into the attacker muscles causing them to do a great deal of work rapidly. This rapid work cycle instantly depletes the attacker blood sugar by converting it to lactic acid. In short, he is unable to produce energy for his muscles, and his body is unable to function properly. They also interrupt the tiny neurological impulses that control and direct voluntary muscle movement. When the attacker’s neuromuscular system is overwhelmed and controlled by the stun gun he loses his balance. Should the attacker be touching you, the current will not pass to your body!

"Reality-Based" Reportage

During his campaign for reelection, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky), when asked about a widely circulated story of an Army Reserve unit in Iraq, including one soldier from his own state, responded, "I don't read the paper ... I watch Fox News to get my information."

Wonder if Sen. Bunning is aware of a marine's shooting of a wounded Iraqi prisoner in a Falluja mosque.

ATTITUDE by Charles Swindoll

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company … a church … a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past – we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude … I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you – we are in charge of our Attitudes.