Jacob's Ladder

Ol' Lightnin' and I just got back from the weekly S.B.A.D.M.V.V.L. Hammerfest...and I think it was our best ride so far.

Mongo figured out that I've been over-training and not giving my old, but still sexy, body enough rest.

By cutting back on my empty miles and focusing on specific riding, I've been able to improve my climbing and reduce my recovery time.

CONN. JOB

In connection to Today's TWD post earlier, here's a little something that could have been from Skitlandia......

I'm Toby OB, and I approve this message.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Always fun things to do . . .

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? (Dawn)
2. What is your favourite food? (Maryland Blue Crabs)
3. What high school did you go to? (Westminster)
4. What is your favourite colour? (pink)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (Heath Ledger, may he rest in peace)
6. Favourite drink? (iced tea)
7. Dream vacation? (a private villa in the Maldives, over the water)
8. Favourite dessert? (apple pie)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? (grandmother, but in due time)
10. What do you love most in life? (Harleigh)
11. One Word to describe you. (content)
12. Your flickr name. (gahangirls)

Click on this link for photo credits.

..::..MiNiMooN..::..

We are off to NY for the Fourth of July!!!

=) So very excited to go =)
Don't know where to start........there are so many places to go and things to see and do....how will we fit it all in?

I don't actually don't care what we do, I'm in the Big Apple with the apple of my eye and I'm thrilled

Cheesy? yes.
Do I care?
NO!!!haha, I'm going to NY
*happy dance*

TODAY'S TWD: A NUTMEG STATE OF MIND

"Connecticut:
Green trees framing the homes of the weatlhy and the near-wealthy;
Gracious living with roots deep in the past."
Narrator
'The Fugitive'

One of the major differences between the movie version of "Death On The Nile" and the TV adaptation for the 'Poirot' series concerned the characters of Cornelia Robson, the niece of Miss Van Schuyler, and Miss Bowers, Miss Van Schulyer's nurse. Apparently there wasn't enough room for both of them aboard the Karnak in either production - Miss Bowers (acidly portrayed by Maggie Smith) is in the movie, while the 'Poirot' series dropped her and let Cornelia fill that function as well as being her aunt's traveling companion... but without the venomous comments, sadly.

(As an example:

Miss Van Schuyler: "Come Bowers, it's time to go. This place is beginning to resemble a mortuary."
Miss Bowers: "Thank God you'll be in one yourself before too long, you bloody old fossil!")

Cornelia Robson was a sweet girl who still had the capability to be suspected of murder in the Linnet Doyle case. She hailed from Bellfield, Connecticut, which apparently is a fictional town in my home state. (At the very least, I can't find any mention of it in Gooogle's maps. A Google search only leads me back to foreign translations of "Death On The Nile" and to an online reprint from a 1913 book by Julia Redford Tomkinson. According to Donna Albino, the narrator of "Doris: A Mount Holyoke Girl," lived in Bellfield. The book concerned Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary during the 1840s.)

Bellfield would join my little collection of fictional Connecticut towns which serve as tenuous connections for the Nutmeg State of the TV Universe. There are the actual locations as well - Hartford from 'Judging Amy', New Haven in 'Scorch', and of course Yale University in so many different shows. Westport was home to Lucy Ricardo and Samantha Stephens and John Monroe (from 'My World And Welcome To It'). Even my own hometown got a shout-out in 'St. Elsewhere'! But it's for those towns only to be found on the maps from 'The Twilight Zone' (and Toobworld in general), that I have the most affection.

Among them would be:

Joyville - 'The Hap Richards Show'
(This was a local kids show back in the early sixties; only fifteen minutes long if I remember correctly. I still have my original certificate of citizenship!)

Stars Hollow - 'Gilmore Girls'
(The Chilton Academy is located about thirty minutes away, and is probably situated just outside of Hartford.)

Danfield - 'The Lucy Show'
(There are those who believe that Danfield was actually in New York State. O'Bviously I'm in the Connecticut camp.)

Dunn's River - 'Soap'

Ellendale - 'The Loretta Young Show'

Northcross - 'Where The Heart Is'

Stepford - "Revenge Of The Stepford Wives"
- "The Stepford Children"
- "The Stepford Husbands"

Cedar Heights - 'Murder, She Wrote' ("If The Frame Fits")

Westborne - 'The Fugitive' ("The Garden House")

Willoughby - 'The Twilight Zone' ("A Stop At Willoughby")

(This would be from the Connecticut of the mind; "wishful thinking nestled in a hidden part of a man's mind"... "Whatever it is, it comes with sunlight and serenity, and is a part of the Twilight Zone.")

I know Bryce Larkin, master spy from 'Chuck', was from Connecticut, but I have no clue where he actually grew up.

One fictional Connecticut town I'd love to add to the mix would be Harper, which can be found in the 1946 movie "The Stranger". It starred Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, and Richard Long and it concerned a fugitive Nazi hiding out in small-town Connecticut. Now that's a movie I'd like to see adapted for Television!

Any other fictional Connecticut towns you can add to my Toobworld map?

BCnU!
Toby OB

The Fat Lady Has Sung

Was it all worth it?

Goodbye...nice to know you.

Longest Walk Northern Route at Pennsylvania Capitol

Watch You Tube Video from today:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0g9zLRucJeQ

Thank you Roxbury News!

.

By Brenda Norrell

HARRISBURG, PA -- The Longest Walk Northern Route held a rally on the steps of the Pennsylvania capitol today in Harrisburg. Walkers sang traditional songs and spoke on the purpose of the walk, with special songs and prayers offered by Jerry McDonald, Mohawk, and Art Greene, Tuscarora, and the Longest Walk Northern Route singers. Gov. Edward Rendell's Special Assistant Lance Simmens read the governor's proclamation. (Please double click to enlarge.) Photos by Brenda Norrell

Northern Route on Pennsylvania TV, Sage at Cowan's Gap:

http://your4state.com/content/fulltext/?cid=19531

Watch brief video

Video by Brenda Norrell

Listen to Earthcycles Longest Walk Talk Radio on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg on Monday:
2008-06-30_harrisburgcapitolone.mp3
56:4151.91 Mb

Messin' With The Hoff

Though this blog has been going for a little over six months, I only started tracking visitors about three months ago. In that time, Mongo Pusher has been read in twenty three states and fifteen countries around the world. Though not a big deal numbers wise, what surprised me is this...I'm huge in Germany!!

Of all the foreign countries, Deutchland is Mongo's #1 fan. Danke shon!

Tole Cabinet

This tole cabinet, a find at Lakewood, is in my laundry closet and holds small jars of stain remover and dryer sheets. It's also home to a stray German doll I can't part with and a teacup pincushion. It's not in great shape, with some rust spots and a stain or two or three. A true catchall . . . just like the key holder below it!

SAM COGLEY WHO?

My one regret about that two-part 'Doctor Who' story by Stephen Moffat which was set on the planet Library, was that it took place in the 51st Century and stemmed from an incident which occurred in the TV Universe during the 50th Century.

Had it been set during the 23rd Century, we could make the assumption that Samuel Cogley, a civilian lawyer who loved books, might have been one of the 4022 visitors to The Library who had been saved into the computer data storage banks one hundred years earlier. (Sam Cogley is pictured here with his client, Captain James T. Kirk in the "Court Martial" episode of 'Star Trek'.)

But all of the books he owned - from the Hebrew Bible to the Tribunal Statutes of Alpha III in its original language - would have been found in The Library........

BCnU!
Toby OB

TODAY'S TWD: ON THE BOOKS

"Silence In The Library" and "Forest Of The Dead" made up a two-part story on 'Doctor Who' recently, in which an entire planet was turned into a library, with the planet core replaced by the largest data storage computer in the universe. Known simply as "The Library", the planet offered newly printed copies of every book ever written. And this would include not only the books that also exist in our world, but also those books one can only find within episodes of TV shows.

And of course, those are the ones of interest here at Toobworld Central!

I can't speak for the other worlds in the TV Universe, but those authors to be found from Toobworld would include the following:

First up, we have quite a few mystery and thriller writers:

Ben Coleman - 'Duet'
Jessica Fletcher - 'Murder, She Wrote'
Glynis Granville - 'Glynis'
Ian Stark - 'Stark Raving Mad'
Bram Shepherd - 'Bram & Alice'
Doug Kirkfield - 'The Boys'
Patrick Glover - 'Father, Dear Father'
Jason King - 'Jason King'
Robin Masters - 'Magnum P.I.'
Maxwell Beckett - 'Over My Dead Body'
Paul Temple - 'Paul Temple'
Nicholas Fleming - 'Sable'
Ernesta and Gwendolyn Snoop - 'The Snoop Sisters'
Daniel Stone - 'Stone'
Dorothy McNab - 'Two's Company'
Rupert Wilde - 'The Wilde Alliance'
Abigail Mitchell - 'Columbo' ("Try And Catch Me")
Franklin & Ferris - 'Columbo' ("Murder By The Book")
Allen Mallory - 'Columbo' ("Publish Or Perish")
Ariadne Oliver - 'Poirot' ("Cards On The Table")
Clarissa Naughton - 'Poirot' ("The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge")
Jose Chung - 'The X-Files' & 'Millennium'
Terrance Sterling - 'Stark Raving Mad'
And there would be the romance writers:
Salome Otterbourne - 'Poirot' ("Death On The Nile")
Crystal Love aka Charlie Wayne - 'Oh, Madeline'
Definitely all of the self-help books would be there, except for those by Dick Loudon. Any books mentioned in the TV series 'Newhart' - including "Murder At The Stratleigh", in which you could hear a pig drop - were all part of a fever dream suffered by Dr. Bob Hartley after eating Japanese food just before bedtime.

A few authors of children's stories:
Professor Huggles - 'Stark Raving Mad'
Margot Foster - 'Double Trouble'
Nancy Krieger Weston - 'thirtysomething'

And among the millions of others:
Rob Petrie - 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' (to be found in the biography section)
Harper Worthington Yates - 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' (a collection of his plays, including "Baby Fat")
Henry Walden - 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' (in the history section)
Maurice James Kingsley - 'Blackeyes'
Clara Burrell - 'No, Honestly'
Max Harlow - 'Normal Life'
Roger Thomas - 'What's Happening Now!'
Cameron Garrett Brooks - 'Window on Main Street'

My thanks to the website "TV Acres" (link to the left) for help in this research.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Longest Walk, prayer walk for Native prisoners in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

(Photo: Longest Walk Northern Route carries the prayer to the US Penitentiary in Lewisburg, where Leonard Peltier is imprisoned, remembering all Native prisoners. Walkers are shown across from the 24-hour prayer vigil. Please double click to enlarge. Photo Brenda Norrell)

By Brenda Norrell

LEWISBURG, Penn. -- The Longest Walk Northern Route carried the prayer walk to the U.S. Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Saturday, June 28, 2008. Walkers remembered Leonard Peltier, and Native prisoners everywhere, during the walk and 24-hour prayer vigil, held on a grassy mound at a busy intersection on the route to the prison. Although walkers had hoped that some walkers would be able to visit Peltier and other prisoners, prison officials said the prisoner visit request forms were not submitted. Still, walkers held their prayer walk and vigil, praying for Native prisoners and other inmates, offering special prayers for the victims of injustice and oppression. Walkers carried their prayer to the gates of the prison. Earthcycles' Longest Walk Talk Radio broadcast live from the vigil site, with interviews with walkers.
The walk, which left Alcatraz Island in California on Feb. 11, offered prayers and ceremonial songs for Native prisoners, praying for family members and friends during the walk and vigil. The walkers were camped at McCall's Dam State Park for two nights.
On the first night, the walkers' support truck carrying the food, sleeping bags and tents ran out of gas on the way here from south central Pennsylvania. Many of the walkers, numbering about 50, slept on the damp ground with no sleeping bag or tents. There was no food for dinner and breakfast was a few cans of Vienna Sausage, a can of fruit cocktail and a package of tofu hot dogs scrounged from support vehicles.
The next morning, Jerry Thunder Cloud McDonald, St. Regis Mohawk, and his wife Jeannie McDonald, Taino, rounded up donations from local stores. (If you would like to donate to the northern route for emergency gas and food, please give donations directly to the on site accountant, Sharon Heta, as this is the only way to ensure funds will reach the northern route walkers. To send funds, Sharon Heta: 650-417-4389.)
At McCall's Dam, walkers enjoyed a flowing creek and warm fires, with Navajo stew and fry bread on Saturday night, thanks to the family of walker Craig Luther, Navajo, who arrived from Richfield, Utah. The state parks of Pennsylvania are free for the walkers, following support and a proclamation from Gov. Edward Rendell. The parks have all been beautiful, in the lush woods with lakes for swimming. A couple of bears have even wandered by.
On the Longest Walk Northern Route, Brenda Norrell

Message from Leonard Peltier
June 26, 2008 Greetings my relatives, I say relatives because you are all my family. I am honored, greatly honored today that you would listen to my words and come together in this way so that our future generations’ will not forget what happened here in this land. You can't imagine how much I miss walking on the bare earth. Or brushing against a tree branch or hearing birds in the morning or seeing an antelope or deer cross my path. I have been here in federal prison for 32 years; if you could imagine being in your own home stuck in one room for one year without leaving it, multiply that by 32 and you might have some idea of how imprisonment plays on your feelings. I really get tired sometimes living here in this cell, this prison. Yet at times I feel really good because for some reason I know that there are those out there who have prayed for me in some way. And it helps me because there are moments when a peaceful feeling will wash over me in my solitude. I try to keep up with world events like the war in Iraq, where those people are going through the same thing our Indian people went through and over the same things. The US wants their resources and they have divided those people against each other. Those children over there and families for generations will still feel the effects of that onslaught of destruction. When I look at our own people’s situation I see a people who have not recovered from the destruction put upon them in the past. Today, the greater society of America doesn't want to accept us for who we are because we will always stand as a reminder of the immoral wrongs that they do and have done all over the world, all in the name of technology and progress. Our people have told them from the very beginning about the consequences of mistreatment of individuals and mistreatment of Mother Earth. There are history books that quote our chief headmen and medicine people cautioning them about there destruction of the earth and nature. We know the first concentration camps America ever had held Indian prisoners. The first biological warfare was used on our people with poisonous blankets. The first atomic bomb dropped was dropped on Indian land in Nevada. Today there are abandoned uranium quarries in Navajo country that cause genetic defects on a lot of their people. When you look into the past, America has used us Indians as their social experiment. They tried to destroy us with boarding schools, relocation, and even the first slavery practice was with American people. However Indian people would fight or commit suicide than to become slaves, and so they imported Africans. Forgive me if I am repeating things you already know, but I just wanted to bring these things up because these are the reasons behind the Wounded Knee takeover in 73 happened and the shootout at Oglala happened. Our people were not just taking a stand against this government for themselves; they in essence represented Indian people all across the Americas. Our resistance wasn't to kill anyone; our resistance was to remain alive while we let the world know what had been and what was being done to us, the Indigenous people. I know for a fact from communication all around the world, that we Indian people inspired many other indigenous people to stand up and defend themselves because of our actions. I have gotten letters from all over the world where people said “if the native Americans can stand up to people like that being in the belly of the beast, surely we can do likewise in some way. I recognize that my being here isn't all about me; my continued imprisonment in essence serves as a warning to others willing to stand up for their people. The US has violated their own constitution they violated the treaties we had with them, they violated all kinds of moralities to bring about my conviction. The average non Indian American either doesn't know or couldn't care less. As long as they can keep their high standard of living our struggles mean nothing to them. Most recently other nations have raised the issues of America’s mistreatment of the people in the concentration camp in Guantanamo; issues of lack of a fair trial, issues of physical, mental abuse and of sanctioned torture of prisoners. I want to also mention that our people were the first to be tortured by this government and we were the first to be victims of scalping by the Europeans. The colonizers were paying for our men, woman and children’s scalps. I may sound angry in what I am saying, but all this goes back to why we are here today. We must not forget what has happened in the past but we must also find a way to heal from those things that have happened and be stronger in the future. We need to heal our families; we need to heal our family’s structures so that what happened to our people in the past can't happen to us again. For several generations our children were shipped off to boarding schools which destroyed their understanding of family and family responsibilities, and you think of the statistics today facing this, they don't have to kill us anymore with guns, our children and adults both are killing themselves. Again, like I said before we have not healed from the destruction that was put upon us, I know each one of us can be better than what we are, it takes effort, it takes getting back to our ceremonies, it takes getting back to our respect for one another, the earth, the Creator and our respect for our brothers’ and sisters’ vision. It takes men being men and being strong fathers and uncles and grandfathers and brothers, not just as a matter of birth but as a matter of responsible behavior. It also takes our women to stand as the strong mothers they were meant to be and the sisters, grandmothers and aunties. We need to repair ourselves and not wait for some grant from the government to tell us or guide us in our recovery. We need to take that responsibility ourselves and mend the sacred hoop. Again I want to say as I have said many times in the past, though my body is locked into this cell, my heart and soul is with you today. In closing I would like to acknowledge the great loss of my brother Floyd Westerman, a tireless advocate for Indigenous rights I’m sure that he as well as many others, who like him devoted their time and energies to better the conditions our people face, are here with us today in spirit. We have no guarantees of the time of our own passing but until that time or my time I will miss them greatly as I miss you my family. Be kind to one another, and remember my words; for I have spoken to you from my heart of hearts. And you will always be in my prayers. In the spirit of Crazy Horse and every Indian man or person that stood for their people, Doksha Leonard Peltier # 89637-132 USP Lewisburg US Penitentiary P.O. Box 1000 Lewisburg, PA 17837-1000

The Red Vest to the Rescue Once Again

Thanks to her wonderful grandfather, who recently passed away, Harleigh now has a car. It was one of his wishes that she have one. With the help of her grandparents here in Atlanta, she now has a 2002 Nissan Sentra, in great condition. With all of her extra-curricular activities both before and after school, jobs, babysitting commitments, wanting to go the gym, etc. this will help us out considerably. With a full-time job, it's really hard for me to juggle work and getting Harleigh to all the places she needs to be. Melinda, a dear friend and stay-at-home mom, has bent over backwards to help out, but it's just a band-aid to what we really needed which is for Harleigh to be able to get to and from where she needs to be at the times needed.

One snafu with the car is that when we purchased it there was a CD stuck in the CD player. It played OK, but just wouldn't eject. After googling "CD stuck in car CD player," Harleigh and I went to work "operating" on the patient using everything from tweezers to duct tape to a shish kabob skewer. To no avail.

We had to make a trip to Ace Hardware to get an extra key as well as a new battery for the car remote. As readers of my past posts know, Ace Hardware is my hardware heaven here on earth. I extolled their virtues with the story of the key. These men can do anything.

So in we walked, to lots of hellos from all the guys (Harleigh used to work part time there). After addressing the key and remote, I asked my "red vest" if he knew of a way to get the stuck CD out. Within a matter of minutes there were red vests everywhere, pulling together an arsenal of tools. There was no doubt that the challenge was "on" and that we would not leave Ace Hardware without an ejected CD in hand. And we did. (The player still eats CDs, but at least we have a CD in there now that Harleigh doesn't mind listening to over and over again.)

I baked brownies, like I always do when my knights-in-shining-armor get me out of scrapes and do things that they don't have to do. This time I made a stencil (thank gosh for easy-to-cut logos) and the guys will hopefully know how much I appreciate all they do. (That or they'll think I'm that crazy lady who needs to get a life 'cause she took time to cut an Ace Hardware stencil for the powdered-sugar logo emblazoning their gift of brownies. Ah well, one more thing that sets me apart and paves the way for me becoming quite the character in my old age.)

Primal Scream

Like a cockroach after a nuclear blast, The Crue have emerged from the ruins of rock and roll tattered and beaten...but certainly not dead. Raw and raucous as ever, their music is a constant reminder of why I liked strippers and coke in the first place.

ECHOES: OF TIME AND SPACE

It's been a while since I've done an "Echoes". It was while watching "George Carlin Again!", shown in tribute to the late comic on HBO2, that I got the idea for this one. In his stand-up act, Carlin talked about all the various phrases we have for the passage of Time - "In a sec", "sooner or later", "any time now", "just a minute", "when the cows come home", "in a while"......

"'Now' seems so soon."
Alix Garrett
'Joey'

"What's Time? Who can define it?"
Mona Roberts
'Burke's Law'

"Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow....
Who knows how much separates one from the other
Or if they can be separated...."
Gavin
'Logan's Run'

"Time! What is Time?
A corporeal measurement of Time and Space: a human boundary."
'Murphy Brown'

"It's been well-documented that Time is not a fixed construct."
Dr. Gregory House
'House'

"Some things are deeper than Time and Distance."
Kevin Arnold
'The Wonder Years'

"Time can take forever."
Olive Snooks
'Pushing Daisies'

"Forever's a long time. I know that first hand."
Mark Volchek
'Wiseguy'

"Eternity's an awful long time to go without a coon hunt."
Heider Simpson
'The Twilight Zone'

"Time is irrelevant in the Limbo state."
Dr. Dagle
'Shades of L.A.'

Jude:
"He's locked himself in his room with his teddy bear!"
Pip:
"He hasn't done that since he proved that Time was an illusion!"
'Supernova'

BCnU!
Toby OB

Tole Watering Can

Got the inspiration from a post at Songbirdtiff who had inherited some of her mother-in-laws platters, including a tole one. I have a number of tole pieces around the house and I'd like to start using them more, or at the very least start highlighting them beyond their utilitarian purposes. I've posted about my four tole pins that I adore. Well, here is the beginning of sharing with you some delightful pieces I own.

This watering can probably isn't considered tole because I think that the pattern on it might just be a decal, but this ain't no Antiques Roadshow, so let's call it tole and leave it at that. It usually has a place of honor on the shelves in the study, and I put it to use at the baby shower for Georganne as a utensil holder. But using it for a vase works too. I put a glass inside for the water. This bouquet is all from the yard . . . shasta daisies, hydrangea and even a cut vine of clematis. It sets on my mantle. Jane at Posy furthered the inspiration with her post about doilies, so I got into my stash of doilies inherited from my grandmother and found this one to be perfect.

RELATEEVEETY SHOWCASE

I think this is the first time the components to one of my theories of "Relateeveety" were ever showcased on TV in the same week. In fact, parts one and two of the second half ended up serving as book-ends for the first half!

The American broadcasts of 'Doctor Who' on the Sci-Fi Channel just broadcast "Forest Of The Dead" last night; part one of that story, "Silence In The Library", aired last weekend. We were introduced to the members of Mr. Lux's expedition to the planet known as "The Library", among whom was an archaeologist nick-named "Other Dave" (since there was already "Proper Dave" in the team's roster).

It's my contention that about thirty centuries earlier, the beginnings of Other Dave's family tree began in Chicago, which we saw in "The Shirt Contest", this week's episode of 'My Boys'.

O.T. Fagbenle, who played "Other Dave" on 'Doctor Who', was Dez, the owner of a trendy bar where Brendan Dorff was applying for a job as a bartender. (He lost his gig as a radio deejay and couldn't find another.) As it turned out, Dez was now with Brendan's ex-girlfriend Wendy, and perhaps even now married to her. (Can't remember that particular detail - and I watched it twice!) If not married, Dez at least made a pretty good effort insuring he'd be with Wendy for awhile at any rate - she was about seven months pregnant with their child.

And it's the belief here at Toobworld Central that the child of Dez and Wendy will one day count "Other Dave" among his descendants.

I don't think any of us will be around to see if that turns out to be true.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

Longest Walk, Prayer Walk for Leonard Peltier

The Longest Walk Northern Route walked to the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Penn., to offer prayers for Leonard Peltier and all American Indian prisoners today. The Longest Walk 24-hour prayer vigil continues at Hwy 15 and Wm Penn St. through tonight, Saturday, June 28, 2008. Listen live or to recorded audios at:
http://www.earthcycles.net/
Photo Brenda Norrell

From Sparks to flames....

...oh what a trail we'll blaze!

That was the whole theme of the Public Allies Graduation. I was wondering what it all meant the other day as I was making these arrangements, now I know! They asked for suggestions on how to decorate on a budget. I offered up all my available resources and then suggested some Martha Stewart pomanders that would cost them all of $20 to make. They made them and did a really good job of placing them in bright vibrant colors throughout the reception hall. They even broke apart my arch and added them to the bamboo. Pretty cool and affordable :)

For more info head over to their website Public Allies

"Public Allies identifies talented young adults from diverse backgrounds and prepares them for careers working for community and social change. Allies serve 10-month, paid apprenticeships at local nonprofits and participate in a rigorous and rewarding leadership development program with a diverse group of peers who are also of and working within their home community."

Stanley Park

“Disguised in the eyes of the matter of fact
The message in the understatement lost in a flash of pain
Tears through the years of the spoken not heard
What is the trigger that revolves the chamber?
Lies brought the prize for the latch key kid
Drenched in self-awareness while spitting out venom
Awakened and shaken to the core of reinvention

Pride subdued by wisdom in the end"

Reppin' The Homeland

It seems like every European country held their national TT championships this week. Just a week or so prior to Le Tour, all the winners are getting fitted for a skin suit rocking their country's colors. It's an opportunity for Phil and Bob and Paul to point out on TV that that is in fact Lukasz Bodnar, the Polish TT National Champion, finishing in 87th place.

Up From The Ashes

As I stated very early on in the blog, Mongo is not a big fan of skateboard magazines. As a for-profit business, they have an obligation to highlight the facets of skateboarding that are representing the most interest and generating the most revenue. Unfortunately for Mongo, street-skating and fashion tend to dominate the pages of all the magazines these days.

I love skateboarding in all it's forms, and what these kids can do on the street is amazing...but it's just not my bag. As an old timey skater from the 70's and 80's, vert, park, and tranny skating have always been my thing. Adams, Alva, Mountain, Miller, Grosso, Caballero, Hawk, Hosoi, Way, Burnquist...These are Mongo's influences.

I was pleasantly surprised to read in the August issue (It's June) of Transworld an intelligent and comprehensive look at the state of vert skating through the eyes and words of some of it's most respected practitioners.

Lance Mountain and Danny way particularly, cut through the bullshit of niche skating, and as oracles of the sport they remind us all why we ride.

TODAY'S TWD: POIROT AND THE LIFE OF FDR

"Amazing, isn't it?
Millions unemployed, a lunatic about to take power in Germany,
And all we read about is how some spoiled brat stole her best friend's fiancé."
Ferguson
'Poirot' - "Death On The Nile"

During the voyage up the Nile, Ferguson was reading a copy of Life magazine which had President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the cover. A quick internet search shows that this particular issue of Life had a news-stand date of January 4, 1937.
Let's figure that the mail service might have been somewhat slow back then, especially to third-world nations, and that magazine would probably be long out of date by the time Ferguson was looking through it.

Yet Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany on January 30th, 1933, about five years before Ferguson said he was about to.

Ferguson was an intelligent man. Not very conversant with how to deal with others, but he had his book smarts, being actually Lord Dagliesh traveling under an alias. So he must have known that "the lunatic" already had taken power in Germany.

I believe that he was thinking more along the lines that Hitler was expanding his control over the region. Perhaps Ferguson was referring to the revelation by Hitler of his war plans at the Hossbach Conference on November 5th, 1937.

This would give plenty of time for that issue of Life magazine to reach the S.S. Karnak, and could indicate that all of these Englishers visited Egypt during the colder winter months.

BCnU!
Toby OB

SO PATRIOTIC!

Lisa had another special delivery to make to commemorate her recovery from a brain aneurism last year. Together, Lisa and I decided that it should be celebrated with patriotism and a few fireworks! Why not!

Keeping Evil at Bay

Dear friend and co-worker Courtney returned from a 10-day trip to Greece with her church's youth group. Visit her lovely blog A Year of Drawing and you'll see some drawings from her trip there. She brought me back an evil-eye bracelet. She chose one in a lovely, warm shade of pink ('cause she knows I'm a sucker for anything pink). With the way things have been going at work lately I sometimes — no, a lot of times — feel evilness. It's not that the people I work with are evil, nor the surroundings or even my daily tasks. What I struggle with most is warding off the evil that manifests in my own being. When people annoy me or intimidate me, I wind up saying nasty things to myself either under my breath or in my head. Granted no one can hear my sarcastic, biting remarks, but I know that what I'm doing is not very Christian-like. And I'm fooling myself if I think that God doesn't cringe when he hears what I'm thinking.

So I don't wear my evil-eye bracelet like a Wonder Woman cuff, taking a stance with my wrists crossed, fending off the forces of evil. Rather I take a glance down at my wrist and am reminded that I really need to take the high road and be a better person.

Last night I was reading a Town & Country magazine and came across an ad for evil-eye jewelry made by Aaron Basha, famed jewelery designer of jeweled baby shoe charms. What are the chances of getting an evil-eye bracelet and spotting an evil-eye jewelry ad in the same day? The picture above is of the ad and you can see my pretty pink bracelet as well.

A THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY

As I mentioned last week, I've picked up the boxed set for the best of Season One of 'Checkmate' (as well as the one for Season Two). So last night I watched the debut episode, "Death Runs Wild" which guest-starred Anne Baxter (in full-on Nora Chandler histrionics).

Her character, Mrs. Kipp, wanted only the head of the agency, Don Corey, to come out to her ranch to help her with the death threats which she was receiving. But Corey was too busy with another case that demanded his attention and so he sent his two partners, Jed Sills and Professor Carl Hiatt.

All we know about that other case is that it was referred to as "the Burlingame case". (The spelling could also be "Burlingham".)

So why can't we assume that this never-seen character of "Burlingame" could be connected by family ties to Z.B. Burlingame, who appeared in "The Class of 1980" episode of 'Midnight Caller'? To bolster the argument, both shows take place in San Francisco. (In two different sites, her last name is spelled "Burlingame" in one, "Burlingham" in the other.)

The actress who played Z.B. was born in 1960, the same year 'Checkmate' debuted. If Z.B. is the same age as Amy Resnick (an automatic assumption at Toobworld Central), perhaps Checkmate Inc. was helping her father in some way? Perhaps by protecting his pregnant wife?

I'm the first to admit it's trivial. But that's what builds the TV Universe!

Toobworld: an epic undertaking of trivial proportions!

As it happens, I don't think Z.B. survived past her 30th birthday, if the plot summary for "The Class Of 1980" is any indication.....

A very pregnant Devon hosts a fundraiser with Jack as the object of the bachelor auction. Her college classmates attend; however, one by one, they fall victim to a murderer. Jack, Zymak and Deacon all work the angles of this case, with the evidence pointing firmly at Jack's new girlfriend.

Or it could be that it wasn't Jack's girlfriend after all, but somebody else - maybe even Z.B.! If so, there's a crime that Checkmate Inc. wasn't able to prevent thirty years earlier.......

BCnU!
Toby OB

TODAY'S TWD: LOOKS LIKE RAINES (BUT....)

It was announced yesterday that Chris Noth will be leaving 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', where he has been easing the load on original star Vincent D'Onofrio by taking the lead in half of the episodes. Once again, our TV screens will be deprived of the presence of TV Crossover Hall of Famer Detective Mike Logan. He'll still be around in Toobworld, I'm sure - unless they're killing him off! - but we just won't be able to watch what he's up to.

In his place, Dick Wolf is bringing in Jeff Goldblum, who I'm sure will be bringing his own unique quirks to his share of the episodes to complement those of D'Onofrio's Detective Goren.

Once I heard that Goldblum had been cast, one thought only came to mind. And apparently I wasn't the only one who had the same idea.....

Here's a snippet from the news story at TVSquad, by Bob Sassone:

No word yet on what character Goldblum will play, but wouldn't it be all kinds of awesome if he reprised as role as Raines for the show (without the seeing of dead people bit)?

And this is by two of that post's commenters:

Nathaniel said...
So, Goldblum being Raines on L&O:CI is never going to happen, but DAMN that would be awesome! I totally agree. Both NBC shows, right? I would totally watch CI (and I never regularly watch any L&O at the moment) if they actually brought him in as Raines. Mention he cured himself or actually have him having his problem... that'd bring a new dimension to a L&O show!

Never gonna happen, of course, but would be awesome.

At least Goldblum's agreeing to be back on TV. Quite cool.

Number6ix said...
Maybe it isn't so "improbable" as you might think it is. After all, check out Richard Belzer as "Det. John Munch". First appearing in "Homicide: Life on the Street", when that show ended the character was transplanted from Baltimore ot New York and into "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". Here is a character that not only crossed over from other shows, but has even crossed networks [FOX-TV, "The X- Files: "The Unusual Suspects"]. Heck, if you catch the "Took" episode of "The Wire", you can catch the detective, back visiting Baltimore, and having a drink at Kavanaugh's Bar.

In the fictional universe of television, if Munch can move from Baltimore to New York, Raines could move from San Francisco to New York. We can only hope... and wait for the season's premire episode...

O'Bviously rights to the character would have to be negotiated, but wouldn't it be awesome if Detective Michael Raines moved East; not just to escape his personal demons, but to get out from the scrutiny of those around him who knew too much of his circumstances?

However, as lost as I can be in the fantasy of a TV Universe, I'm a practical man as well. I know that it's far more likely Goldblum will be playing a brand new character on the show.

But here's something interesting: the 'Raines' page still exists at NBC.com, nearly a year after the show was canceled......

At least we who enjoy the fantasy of Toobworld know that Michael Raines is still out there... somewhere. We just can't view him at present.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Rust ain't so bad.....

Ahhh...the mock ups.

Here is a "rust" themed wedding that is going down in August. My bride Daisy is primarily using Gerbera Daisies, but for her sweetheart table I needed to come up with something that would be beautiful and simple. This is an idea of what I will present to her and see if she's is diggin it or if she prefers something else. I absolutely love her color.
(Sidebar:Can you believe with a mega sale combined with a coupon I got 10 yards of this fabulous rust colored silk for $20? Augh! SUCH a good deal.)So we will see if this makes it to the big day.

Red, Chartruese, Green, Black, Brown Wedding

Whew! What a color combo! Love it : )

Multiple centerpieces, Funky Boutonnières, Basic Bouquet(except ribbon detail will be different FOR SURE) and the hi-low vases may line an aisle ; )