Her goes, the monthly "Numbers" Post.
I survived NaBloPoMo! Sorry to my regular readers for some of the less exciting posts.
Dated this Wednesday, December 24, 2008
At The North Pole
Merry Christmas Sj!
Way to go Sj! Your halo may be a little bit crooked but you're definitely on Santa's "Nice List"! Mrs. Claus and the elves sure do look forward to hearing how you're doing!
Keep up the great work, Sj!
Merry Christmas!
Important Notice: A certified copy of this "Naughty or Nice" ranking has been placed in a special high-security vault in the offices of Santa's accounting firm of "Elf, Elf & Galoshes" and another has been sent directly to Santa's sleigh. Merry Christmas!
If you would like to find out where you stand on the official "Naughty or Nice" ranking simply click here.
Enjoy ~SJ
Sorry, another teaching post.
d wraps presents! Well, to say the least I was a little ticked off. I was tempted to roll down the window and ask her if she wanted help addressing her Christmas cards as well, but I decided to not say anything at all. Back to the front door I went to start the whole routine again. The second time I found a man coming out of the store (again, shopping cart overflowing), I followed him to his vehicle and waited. Once he was done loading his car he yelled over to me "I'm going to leave my cart here for you, there are none inside!" He left and I pulled into the spot. The simple act of this man being kind wiped the slate clean of the SUV Woman's rude behavior. Once I finally got into the store My Mother and Grandmother had been wondering what took me so long, and informed me that they couldn't find a cart. I re-told the whole story, and we were all thankful for the nice man who not only let me have his spot, but also the cart.Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
The Music Man and I have been enjoying our share of lobster lately. With prices being at historic lows, and the lobster men begging people to buy them. We have been trying to do our part to support the local lobster men.
When My Mother and I are together for Christmas we typically open one present each the night before Christmas. We each pick out the present that the other should open, taking great pride in the selection. A few years back, when I was going to college in Boston and My Mother was the owner of the Shamrock, we sat down around the tree on the night before Christmas and gave each other the one present to open. I could tell before opening mine that it was going to be some sort of clothing item, I opened it excitedly hoping they might be new pajamas. They were red flannel pajama bottoms and little dachshunds on them. I started to chuckle and encouraged Mom to open her present. Well, low and behold we had gotten each other the same pair of pajamas, matching mother-daughter pajamas to sleep in the night before Christmas! You have to understand that My Mother and I would wear our pajamas all the time if it was socially acceptable. My Mother has even been known to host a Christmas or two outfitted in her most fashionable pajamas, and no one even knew. Maybe the most ironic part of this whole story is w
hen we opened the rest of the presents the next morning we discovered that we had also purchased the same set of nesting bowls for each other. Odd, I would have to say yes.
This picture was taken in October during a motorcycle ride around Webb Lake with The Music Man.Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your family and friends.
Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!!
Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you......Tis the Season to be NICE! (Ok, so I posted it on my blog.... minor change)
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? For regular shaped gifts I use paper, for the odd shaped ones I use bags. The previous owner of my house (My Mother) left me well stocked for all of my gift wrapping needs. 
2. Real tree or Artificial? I have to admit that I don't put a tree up - cats, no one comes over, it is a lot of work. But I do have a very cute Charlie Brown artificial tree.
3. When do you put up the tree? Never before my birthday.
4. When do you take the tree down? When I have the time
5. Do you like eggnog? Love it, and drink it year round when I can find it.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Mother always went over the top finding very special and unique toys for me. I always got a pile of new favorite books.
7. Hardest person to buy for? The Uncles
8. Easiest person to buy for? Mom
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Christmas cards? Did you not see my last post? I never get them out on time and gave up this year and did a Christmas Blog.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Whoever thought cream was a good color on SJ?
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When I start seeing things that fit for the people on my list. I am all done for this year, but other years I still shop after the holiday.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Isn't that what the gifts you don't like are for?
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Meat pies
16. Lights on the tree? Is there an option not to?
17. Favorite Christmas song? I don't think that I have one.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Lately I have been traveling.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yup! And I didn't even have to Google it!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Miss Piggy dressed as an angle.
21. Presents on Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? That the Christmas stuff starts before Halloween...Thanksgiving is a holiday too!!
23. Favorite Ornament theme or color? What, isn't Christmas enough of a theme?
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Steamed chocolate pudding with this sweet sauce on
top. Maybe I will post the recipe later, it is an old family one.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? It is something that Santa can't bring..... I promise that I have been good!
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Rach
27. Who is least like ly to respond to this? Those mystery people out there in the blogosphere that I don't even know read me.
Enjoy ~SJ
Trapped in a world 12 inches wide, Fish is often a moral compass and dispenser of sage advice for Poncho, being surprisingly well-versed in Zen philosophy, theology, and cat lingo.
On my way into school today Weather Boy was in front of me. Ironically, Rach followed me into school yesterday. Weather Boy parked his truck and went into the building like he does every morning. I parked in my usual spot, and as I started into the building I noticed that Weather Boy had left his lights on. Being the Good Samaritan that I am, I went over to his truck, hoped that the door was unlocked (who in Maine locks them anyway?), and turned them off for him. Not only did I do my good deed for my fellow RVB/colleague, but I also saved him the headache of a drained battery later in the day. I caught up with him in the building to informed him that I was most likely going to blog about the entire event since I was a little short of material for today. Every little bit helps each that 365 blog post, as well as being kind to others.You Should Walk on Stilts |
 Your biggest talent is your ability to make people laugh. And like most comedians, you'll do anything to get a people roaring. You know how to work a crowd. You are witty, but you are also great at physical comedy. But you'll leave the daredevil stunts to other people... you don't need them to get your applause. |
Well, I may have missed the first official no school day and all of the snowy clean up (thank you again Music Man!) due to my most recent travels. But I made up for it all by getting my avid blog follower another quick shot of my feet near the pool.
My Best Friend is in the hospital tonight, for the second night, due to a deep cat bite. Yes folks, you heard it right, she is in the hospital for a cat bite. Her cat Emma got scared by a dog and in the process of fleeing the situation she bit her owner on the thumb. My Best Friend woke up the next morning with a "sausage thumb", after hours in the hospital and multiple visits she had to undergo surgery on the thumb to clean out the infection. She is hoping to be out of the hospital tomorrow, but the joking will never end. Cat bit, hospital stay, surgery!
Brad Conant (Debate Coach) & SJ (Speech Coach) at Krispy Kreme in Wichita, KAThe founder, Vernon Rudolph, worked for his uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, who purchased a secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts and a shop on Broad Street in Paducah, Kentucky, from Joseph LeBeouf of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Rudolph began selling the yeast doughnuts in Paducah and delivered them on his bicycle. The operation was moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and other family members joined to meet the customer demand. Rudolph sold his interest in the Nashville store and in 1937 opened a doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, and began selling to groceries and then directly to individual customers. The first Krispy Kreme store was located in a rented building on South Main Street in Winston-Salem in what is now called historic Old Salem.
By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was well-known throughout the southeastern United States, and it began to expand into other areas of the country.
In 1976, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beatrice Foods of Chicago, Illinois. The headquarters for Krispy Kreme remained in Winston-Salem.
A group of franchisees purchased the corporation back from Beatrice Foods in 1982.
In 2003, a pilot project in Mountain View, California, to sell doughnuts through car windows and sunroofs at a busy intersection (with wireless payment) failed.
On June 3, 2005, National Doughnut Day in the US, participating franchises gave away free doughnuts.
On February 19, 2007, Krispy Kreme began selling the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in an attempt to appeal to the health conscious. The doughnut has twenty kilocalories (83,736 J) fewer than the original glazed (180 vs. 200 kcal) and contains more fiber (2 grams vs. 0.5 grams). As of January 2008, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are free of trans fats and are labeled as "0 grams of trans fat".
Enjoy ~SJ
"Glazer, of Topsham, has been a resident artist at Bates since 1980. He is a musician of international stature whose long career includes numerous recordings and premieres of contemporary music, his own television program in the 1950s and countless solo recitals and performances with orchestras and chamber ensembles, including the New England Piano Quartette, of which he was a founder.
"Just to be in the room while Frank Glazer shares his tremendous musical wisdom and experience with artists like Macomber and the Parker quartet will be a treat," says Seth Warner, manager of the Olin concert hall.
In the 1930s Glazer studied with both Artur Schnabel, a leading interpreter of the Viennese masters, and with Arnold Schoenberg, whose atonal compositions were the antithesis of Viennese lyricism.
Glazer was 21 when he made his New York debut at Town Hall on Oct. 20, 1936. That event (recreated at Bates on its 70th anniversary in 2006) marked the start of a performing career that finds this artist creatively robust in his 90s."
~ Bates Office of Communications and Media Relations
"Born circa 1915, Glazer grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In his teenage years, he played in vaudeville. Alfred Strelsin, a New York signage manufacturer and arts patron, provided the funds for Glazer to travel to Berlin in 1932 to study with Artur Schnabel; he also studied with Arnold Schoenberg. Glazer then taught piano in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Strelsin urged Glazer to make his New York debut, telling him, "If you don't start by time you're 21, forget it". Glazer made his debut at Town Hall in New York City on October 20, 1936, with a program of Bach, Brahms, Schubert, and Chopin. He played this program again in 2006, to celebrate his seventieth anniversary of public performance.
In 1939 Glazer performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Sergei Koussevitzky. Glazer served in the military in World War II.
After the war he embarked upon an effort to reinvent piano technique, beginning with a study of anatomy and analyzing the most efficient way to create sound. Glazer believes this study is why he has remained able to play successfully into his 90s, when hand problems have forced many younger pianists out of the profession. As one fellow pianist commented, "It gets more amazing as Frank gets older, because he has less brute force to put into his playing. Yet he can still play some of the toughest pieces in the repertory, because he has figured out how to get there without wasting any motion".[citation needed]
In the early 1950s, Glazer had his own television show. With his wife, Ruth, he founded in the 1970s the Saco River Festival in Maine, a summer chamber series. From 1965 until 1980 Glazer taught at the Eastman School of Music; among his students was Myriam Avalos. In 1980 Glazer left Eastman and became artist in residence at Bates College in Maine." (Wikipedia)
Glazer gives many concerts at Bates, his next one will be Sunday February 1st in the afternoon. This will be to celebrate his birthday. Hope to see you at this free concert!
Enjoy ~SJ
Happy Birthday to SJ! I have been saving this Mordant Orange comic for a few weeks now to post today. It just cracked me up!
The night before my 4th or 5th birthday I informed my Mother that I couldn't wait until the Birthday Bee cam to visit me that night. My Mother, like any good mother, did not react in shock to this foreign idea, she simply asked "Who is the Birthday Bee?" The answer to that question is simple, the night before your birthday the Birthday Bee comes and visits you, removes your old number and replaces it with a new shiny number. During the day the Birthday Bee shines up the old numbers and gets ready to deliver them to people the next night. To my little mind this is how you got older, a bee brought you a new number. No idea where this whole idea came from, but I have always thought about turning it into a children's book.
I would like to share with you wonderful and dedicated blog readers some of the blogs that I read. I know that you can read them over on the left hand column of my blog, but lets be honest with ourselves does anyone ever really look there? When was the last time I updated that anyway? Who knows? My Google Reader is organized into three categories, well actually four, but I am not going to bore you with the education blogs I read, maybe another day. Drum roll please......
Betty James, who came up with the name Slinky for the stair-walking spring that has delighted children for more than 60 years and who ran the toy company after her husband, the inventor, left it and his family in 1960, died Thursday in Philadelphia. She was 90 and lived in Hollidaysburg, Pa., where the company, James Industries, is located. (Miami Herald)
"What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky…
It's Slinky, it's Slinky, for fun it's a wonderful toy
It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun for a girl and a boy
- Advertising JingleIn 1943, Richard James was a naval engineer trying to develop a meter designed to monitor horsepower on naval battleships. Richard was working with tension springs when one of the springs fell to the ground. He saw how the spring kept moving after it hit the ground and an idea for a toy was born.
Traespiral
Richard James told his wife Betty, "I think I can make a toy out of this" and then spent the next two years figuring out the best steel gauge and coil to use for the toy. Betty James found a name for the new toy after discovering in the dictionary that the word "Slinky" is a Swedish word meaning traespiral - sleek or sinuous.Slinky debuted at Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1945 Christmas season and then at the 1946 American Toy Fair. Richard nervous at the first demonstration of his toy convinced a friend to attend and buy the first Slinky. However, this turned out to be unnecessary as 400 were sold during the 90 minute Gimbel demonstration.
James Spring & Wire Company
Richard James and Betty James founded James Spring & Wire Company (renamed James Industries) with $500 dollars and began production. Today, all Slinkys are made in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania using the original equipment designed and engineered by Richard James. Each one is made from 80 feet of wire and over a quarter billion Slinkys have been sold worldwide.
Richard James - Cult Involvement
Around 1960, Richard James suffered from a mid-life crisis and left his wife, six children, and the Slinky Empire to join a Bolivian religious order/cult. Betty James took over as CEO of James Industries and rescued the company from the debts left by her husband's generosity to his religion. She moved the company to its current Hollidaysburg location from Philadelphia and began an active advertising campaign complete with the famous Slinky jingle. Richard James died in 1974.
Betty James Continues
Betty James also replaced the original material of blue-black Swedish steel with silver colored American metal. She added other toys to the line: Slinky Jr., Plastic Slinky, Slinky Dog, Slinky Pets, Crazy Eyes (glasses with Slinky-extended fake eyeballs) and Neon Slinky. The line was sold in 1998 to Poof Toys.
"Jade (Yu in Chinese pinyin) was defined as beautiful stones by Xu Zhen (about 58-147) in Shuo Wen Jie Zi, the first Chinese dictionary. Jade is generally classified into soft jade (nephrite) and hard jade (jadeite). Since China only had the soft jade until jadeite was imported from Burma during the Qing dynasty (1271-1368), jade traditionally refers to the soft jade so it is also called traditional jade. Jadeite is called Feicui in Chinese. Feicui is now more popular and valuable than the soft jade in China.The history of jade is as long as the Chinese civilization. Archaeologists have found jade objects from the early Neolithic period (about 5000 BC), represented by the Hemudu culture in Zhejian Province, and from the middle and late Neolithic period, represented by the Hongshan culture along the Lao River, the Longshan culture along the Yellow River, and the Liangzhu culture in the Tai Lake region. Jade has been ever more popular till today.
The Chinese love jade because of not only its beauty, but also more importantly its culture, meaning and humanity, as Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC) said there are 11 De (virtue) in jade. The following is the translation (don't know the translator):
'The wise have likened jade to virtue. For them, its polish and brilliancy represent the whole of purity; its perfect compactness and extreme hardness represent the sureness of intelligence; its angles, which do not cut, although they seem sharp, represent justice; the pure and prolonged sound, which it gives forth when one strikes it, represents music. Its color represents loyalty; its interior flaws, always showing themselves through the transparency, call to mind sincerity; its iridescent brightness represents heaven; its admirable substance, born of mountain and of water, represents the earth. Used alone without ornamentation it represents chastity. The price that the entire world attaches to it represents the truth. To support these comparisons, the Book of Verse says: "When I think of a wise man, his merits appear to be like jade."'
Thus jade is really special in Chinese culture, also as the Chinese saying goes "Gold has a value; jade is invaluable."
Enjoy ~SJ
wn up adult, but I do remember fondly playing with them as a child. I played with my American Dolls, Molly and Kirsten when there were only three dolls, and they were still manufactured in Germany. It is always exciting to see a girl on the streets carrying her American Doll around, or seeing specials about them on T.V.
Not seeing the humor? I guess maybe the funny part for me is the fact that the characters in the comic come historically before Columbus.
