I taped and then watched today the "Mistaken Identity" story that was on Dateline on Friday. And boy did I cry! From the poor families not knowing if their daughters were alive, to the one family finding out that their daughter was NOT alive and having to bury her, to the other family finding out their daughter did make it but was in a coma with major brain damage, to the ultimate realization that this girl that they were caring for constantly and watching slowly heal was in fact not the girl they thought it was, to the family who thought they were getting messed with all over again by some jerks telling them that their daughter was maybe alive after all, to the girl who survived dealing with survivor's guilt.... I was kind of a mess. Unbelievable, moving story.
That site has video but I'm not sure if it's complete. Also, the families are going to be on Oprah on Weds.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Author Name Pronunciation Site
I thought this was pretty cool, especially for the librarian/teacher/parent who might be faced with trying to pronounce author's names. It lists a bunch of author's names and when you click on one, you go to a link where the author is pronouncing his/her own name. Usually, they also explain the name's origins.
Some of them seem a little silly (did anyone ever have trouble with "Judy Blume"?) but others are pretty useful (I always did stumble over Jon Scieszka) (via)
Some of them seem a little silly (did anyone ever have trouble with "Judy Blume"?) but others are pretty useful (I always did stumble over Jon Scieszka) (via)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
BoltBus
I've heard you can ride buses from Washington DC to New York City pretty cheaply, but how about $1? BoltBus offers some tickets for only $1! And even their most expensive trips seem to be about $20. It all depends on when you want to go and how early you book. Pretty sweet! (via)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
"Talkshow split gives gabbers new life"
An article in Variety explains how the Daytime Emmy awards will be splitting Best Talk Show into two different categories, one for information and one for entertainment. It mentions that Ellen Degeneres has cleaned up in that category the last few years while shows like The View were overlooked. Here's an opportunity for another show to win.
Huh? They imply that the new winner might be The View. HA! The View sucks. Have you ever heard their interviews? They are a complete waste of time with four people trying to get their questions in before the 5 minutes alloted for interviews ends. There rarely is any sort of cohesion or segue from one topic to another, either. And, during the Hot Topics section, which has the potential to be interesting, the women usually just offer ill-informed opinions on the goings-on of the day while talking over each other. Meanwhile, Ellen has to fill one entire hour of time every single day with interviews that she conducts by herself, with comedic bits, with a monologue and well, with dancing segments that kill time. But that was a clever way to kill time, you have to admit. People love it! She doesn't just show up five minutes before the show and express her opinion. I couldn't agree more with the critics interviewed in that article.
Huh? They imply that the new winner might be The View. HA! The View sucks. Have you ever heard their interviews? They are a complete waste of time with four people trying to get their questions in before the 5 minutes alloted for interviews ends. There rarely is any sort of cohesion or segue from one topic to another, either. And, during the Hot Topics section, which has the potential to be interesting, the women usually just offer ill-informed opinions on the goings-on of the day while talking over each other. Meanwhile, Ellen has to fill one entire hour of time every single day with interviews that she conducts by herself, with comedic bits, with a monologue and well, with dancing segments that kill time. But that was a clever way to kill time, you have to admit. People love it! She doesn't just show up five minutes before the show and express her opinion. I couldn't agree more with the critics interviewed in that article.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Fortune Cookie
I had a fortune cookie today and my fortune read: "An interesting sports opportunity is in your near future."
Hmm! What could it be? I immediately assumed I will win one of the March Madness Bracket Buster games and become a millionaire. What else could it mean?
It also gave me numbers: 8 15 17 20 35 42
Those are suspiciously close to the Lost numbers. But too bad I didn't have those numbers when I was creating my brackets!
Hmm! What could it be? I immediately assumed I will win one of the March Madness Bracket Buster games and become a millionaire. What else could it mean?
It also gave me numbers: 8 15 17 20 35 42
Those are suspiciously close to the Lost numbers. But too bad I didn't have those numbers when I was creating my brackets!
Monday, March 17, 2008
SI.com Archive
Starting on Thursday, Sports Illustrated's Web site will debut "The Vault," which will feature all the content, including photographs, from all of its back issues. It will be searchable and also will let you literally "turn the page" from old issues. Sounds pretty cool. (via)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Guys suck
That guys suck is not really news, especially not to any single women out there. However....
I went out with a bunch of ladies Sat. night and got into the old discussion of why do guys take your number and then not call you? I think this has probably happened to everyone at some point or another, definitely has happened to me. But on Saturday, one of the gals in our group started talking to this guy who she had met before and had given her number to when he asked. And he never called. So the other gals were trying to encourage her to talk to him again but she felt like there must have been a good reason he hadn't called and was a little hesitant to even put herself out there.
So we discussed among ourselves possible reasons why guys do this. Theories included they were too drunk to remember afterwards that they did in fact take your number... they meant to call but time passed and they just felt like it was too late then... they took it with the intention to call but changed their mind later... they just like to collect numbers.
When we actually consulted a male, one of this guy's friends in fact, he added a new one to the list: guys take numbers as a way to end a conversation. Which shocked me in its obnoxiousness; I mean, there are a million ways to end a conversation without implying that you are going to call someone and talk to them again. Is this a common thought among men?
The next day I posed the same question to my male roommate. He gave me some of the reasons we females had also come up with and added, "Sometimes you ask for a number just to end a conversation." So, yes, indeed this apparently is a common thought among men. I can't get over how rude that is!
Therefore, here are some suggestions to men on other ways to end a conversation:
1.) "Bye."
2.) "It was nice talking to you."
3.) "Well, I really need to get going."
4.) "I need to use the restroom."
5.) "I need to make a call."
6.) "I need to get a drink."
7.) "Oh, I see someone else I want to talk to!"
8.) "Well, good luck with [that thing we were talking about]."
9.) "Wow, look at the time."
10.) "I really should get back to my friend."
I went out with a bunch of ladies Sat. night and got into the old discussion of why do guys take your number and then not call you? I think this has probably happened to everyone at some point or another, definitely has happened to me. But on Saturday, one of the gals in our group started talking to this guy who she had met before and had given her number to when he asked. And he never called. So the other gals were trying to encourage her to talk to him again but she felt like there must have been a good reason he hadn't called and was a little hesitant to even put herself out there.
So we discussed among ourselves possible reasons why guys do this. Theories included they were too drunk to remember afterwards that they did in fact take your number... they meant to call but time passed and they just felt like it was too late then... they took it with the intention to call but changed their mind later... they just like to collect numbers.
When we actually consulted a male, one of this guy's friends in fact, he added a new one to the list: guys take numbers as a way to end a conversation. Which shocked me in its obnoxiousness; I mean, there are a million ways to end a conversation without implying that you are going to call someone and talk to them again. Is this a common thought among men?
The next day I posed the same question to my male roommate. He gave me some of the reasons we females had also come up with and added, "Sometimes you ask for a number just to end a conversation." So, yes, indeed this apparently is a common thought among men. I can't get over how rude that is!
Therefore, here are some suggestions to men on other ways to end a conversation:
1.) "Bye."
2.) "It was nice talking to you."
3.) "Well, I really need to get going."
4.) "I need to use the restroom."
5.) "I need to make a call."
6.) "I need to get a drink."
7.) "Oh, I see someone else I want to talk to!"
8.) "Well, good luck with [that thing we were talking about]."
9.) "Wow, look at the time."
10.) "I really should get back to my friend."
Overextended?
So now I'm officially in three book clubs, actually four. Well, I guess I'm only officially in one since I've yet to attend a meeting of the others but I've "committed" myself to two others meeting in the next month. Am I crazy or can I do it?
My work book club has decided that the next book will be Water for Elephants, which is apparently about the circus? It was like #1 on a list of "Top Books for Book Clubs" or something too so I guess there is stuff to talk about. I'll definitely give it a try because it's better than the last book: A Tale of Two Cities. Our due date is mid-April.
The Librarians & Friends Book Club is reading books by Valerie Martin this month. I've got two of her books checked out from the library and have had a little difficulty getting into them. But I think that's more because a book club seems like homework and therefore I want to procrastinate and the book club doesn't meet for another couple of weeks so why get too involved yet? These books do sound semi-interesting, though. Our due date is March 26.
I also joined a Miscellaneous Female Book Club (my name, not theirs) with some gals I went out with on Saturday night. Our book is The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. I had never heard of the book but I do know the author and thoroughly enjoyed his first book, Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, so hopefully this one is just as good. Instead of being about Savannah, this new book is about Venice so I'm expecting a similar type of book. Our due date is April 1.
Finally, the last book club is actually the one I've read the most books for. My friend Catherine & I are reading all the advanced copies of teen fiction books we've been given for free at the American Library Association conferences. We have a collection of maybe ten titles and I find myself most interested in reading those. Probably because they are simple, easy-to-read and there is no pressure of a due date.
My work book club has decided that the next book will be Water for Elephants, which is apparently about the circus? It was like #1 on a list of "Top Books for Book Clubs" or something too so I guess there is stuff to talk about. I'll definitely give it a try because it's better than the last book: A Tale of Two Cities. Our due date is mid-April.
The Librarians & Friends Book Club is reading books by Valerie Martin this month. I've got two of her books checked out from the library and have had a little difficulty getting into them. But I think that's more because a book club seems like homework and therefore I want to procrastinate and the book club doesn't meet for another couple of weeks so why get too involved yet? These books do sound semi-interesting, though. Our due date is March 26.
I also joined a Miscellaneous Female Book Club (my name, not theirs) with some gals I went out with on Saturday night. Our book is The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. I had never heard of the book but I do know the author and thoroughly enjoyed his first book, Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, so hopefully this one is just as good. Instead of being about Savannah, this new book is about Venice so I'm expecting a similar type of book. Our due date is April 1.
Finally, the last book club is actually the one I've read the most books for. My friend Catherine & I are reading all the advanced copies of teen fiction books we've been given for free at the American Library Association conferences. We have a collection of maybe ten titles and I find myself most interested in reading those. Probably because they are simple, easy-to-read and there is no pressure of a due date.
Friday, March 07, 2008
New Umbrella
I'm pretty sure I would never use this as I don't like umbrellas (regardless of how fancy they are) and normally do not mind just getting wet but regardless, check out the Nubrella. Basically it's like a tent for your head. It goes all the way around your head, is clear in front so you can see where you are going, and rests on your shoulders so you can be hands-free also. Revolutionary I suppose but yes, it does look like a bubble.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Ex-Boyfriend Jewelry
This Web site provides a forum for women to sell the jewelry they got from their exes, complete with pictures and the stories behind the jewelry. For example: if he really knew me, he would have known that I don't like heart-shaped jewelry.
It's kind of amusing. I think I have something I could sell on there too!
It's kind of amusing. I think I have something I could sell on there too!
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