May 2004

Noah

This month I have been working on a new page Noah vs Archeology. Journey back in time and history - guaranteed to be interesting or I will refund your time (less shipping and handling).

Van Helsing

I am not much into vampire movies, but this is done very well. Bob Costas interviewed the actor and that got me interested in the movie. I thought he would be a spin off of an Indiana Jones character. Wrong. Although not as creative as "League of Extradinary Gentlemen", it stands on its own. Movie is well worth seeing. It's a big screen movie. The graphics are excellent. Down side is, if you have an old theatre, wait for it to come out on DVD. That uncomfortable seat gets old after two hours. On a side note, an entertaining vampire thread. Link cuts to the second page.

i look forward to reading what you two come up with, but at this point I would disagree that Judas was the first ever vampire. Vampire legends are much older than the times of Jesus and females seem to be the original vampires.
this might or might not be of help to you, but it discusses the female prevalence of vampires before the introduction of Vlad the impaler.
http://altvampyres.com/femalesf.html

Betty Boop

Betty Boop first appeared as a dog character, the girl friend of another dog named Bimbo, as a Talkartoon named Dizzy Dishes. Created by Grim Natwick and Max Fleisher (he and his brothers invented the rotoscope in 1915). In 1934 came the Hays Act, which brought a new morality to Betty Boop. On a side note, the term "yellow journalism" came into being over a comic strip Yellow Kid; the battle between Pulitzer and Hearst.

Betty was created soon after the end of the "roaring '20s," a time when people were relatively uninhibited about sexuality. As a result of this, the early Betty Boop cartoons were rather explicit. Bettywore a sleeveless dress that ended high above her knees, and in countless cartoons, this dress came off (orin other cases, she wore a long gown that would become translucent at certain times). Male charactersoften felt her up, and "boop-oop-a-doop" seemed to have more meaning than just a scatty nonsenseexpression.

The early cartoons were also full of torrid jazz, performed by artists such as Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Don Redman. The cartoons with jazz-performing guest stars often contained references to drug use; the one with Don Redman had "Chant of The Weed" performed at the beginning of it, and Cab Calloway sang about "kicking the gong" (smoking opium) in most of the cartoons that he was in.

Clock Making

A brief history of American clockmaking. Found article in the archives of thegavel.net, the Newspaper of Choice for those who love antiques & auctions.

The craft of making tall case clocks in America began in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and later in Connecticut; Connecticut became the birthplace of mass-produced clocks about 1840. Except in rare instances, the clockmaker did not make the cases for his clocks. Cases were usually made by a cabinetmaker on order from the clockmaker or from the purchaser of the movements. Each area developed its own regional style; one can distinguish between clocks made in Philadelphia, New York, or Boston.

Generally speaking, case styles reflected the furniture styles of the period. Cases with flat tops, no feet, and square brass dials are of the William and Mary style. Between 1715 and 1725 arches appeared on the dial and hoods were arched to conform. The ogee foot appeared, and the style developed into that known as Queen Anne.

The Chippendale style developed around 1760, broken arches became popular on the hoods and some fretwork was used, brass or wood finials appeared, and ogee feet became standard. (OG -- ogee -- is a molding found in both architecture and furniture.) Around 1780, the Hepple- white style appeared. The cases of this period often feature inlay work.

Pet Food

Ever wonder what's really in pet food.

Three of the five major pet food companies in the United States are subsidiaries of major multinational companies: NestlÈ (Alpo, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Mighty Dog, and Ralston Purina products such as Dog Chow, ProPlan, and Purina One), Heinz (9 Lives, Amore, Gravy Train, Kibbles-n-Bits, Nature's Recipe), Colgate-Palmolive (Hill's Science Diet Pet Food). Other leading companies include Procter & Gamble (Eukanuba and Iams), Mars (Kal Kan, Mealtime, Pedigree, Sheba, Waltham's), and Nutro. From a business standpoint, multinational companies owning pet food manufacturing companies is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have increased bulk-purchasing power; those that make human food products have a captive market in which to capitalize on their waste products, and pet food divisions have a more reliable capital base and, in many cases, a convenient source of ingredients.

Change Within

An interesting dilemma: can a person change themself, if their heart is really not in it? The snip below is found in example, middle of page. Author is christian and believes that with gods help it can be done. What if one does not believe in a god. Can an interest in people and having friends take place? I believe it can.

I notice that my relationship with my friends is not as good as I would like it to be. So I make a rule that I will spend more time with them. Whilst spending time with them I become aware that I am forcing myself to spend more time with them and that I would prefer to do other things (read/play computer games). So I make a rule that I will take more interest my friends I will be more curious about them, hopefully they will seem more interesting to me than reading. Later I realise that I am not really becoming more interested in them. Ashamed of myself I seek another rule to try to change my heart. If I take the time to notice I see that my heart is unavailable to others, uninterested in others, and unable to be changed by me. And my next question will always be "So, what do I do now?"

And there it is again. I want a rule to live by. My rules haven't worked, tell me your rule and I'll give it a go. So what do I do? I realise that rules won't save me or change me, note to self: "No rules". And that is my new rule. I can't help it. I keep making rules to fix myself.

Mushrooms

An article in newfarm.org that caught my eye, Farming the fungi kingdom—Organically. On the left side of page is a short flavor guide to some of the varieties Killbuck Valley grows: Oyster mushrooms – Thomas calls them “the chicken of the mushroom world” because they go well with many things. They are mild, have a pleasant flavor, a wonderful texture, and their appearance is beautiful in a dish. They are often cooked with seafood, chicken, or pasta.

A different kind of farming
The process of growing mushrooms begins with mycelia, which the Wiandts isolate from the wild or, more often, purchase in a test tube from a laboratory. As beer brewers do with yeast, the Wiandts drop bits of mycelia into a malt sugar solution. They leave them there for a couple weeks until the concoction looks like tapioca pudding.

Once the mycelia are mature, they put small samples of the liquid broth into bags of sterilized rye grain, seal the bags and transfer them to a room held at 75 degrees. After about two weeks, when the mycelia have spawned, the Wiandts distributed the rye through bags of packed straw or sawdust. After another two weeks, the mushrooms begin fruiting out of holes poked in the bags. The mushrooms fruit up to five times and Thomas and Wendy harvest them twice a day.

Linguistics

A brief article on American Indian language origin. Or maybe you would rather visit the secret societies and conspiracy section.

In 1492 there were at least 350 different languages spoken by the Native Americans north of Mexico, including Eskimos and Aleuts, and perhaps some 1,500 languages spoken in Mexico and Central and South America. These are totals of separate languages--not dialects. The speakers of one such language could not understand any of the other languages without special learning. If one included the different dialects of each of these languages, the totals would be much greater. As a general rule, most Indian groups known to us as separate tribes spoke separate languages. Presently, about 200 languages survive in North America, perhaps 275 in South America, and many more in Central America and Mexico.

Indian languages have contributed to the vocabulary of English and many other Old World languages, especially in words for animals, plants, and culture traits unknown to Europeans before their discovery of the New World. Such words include raccoon, coyote, squash, tomato, potato, tapioca, chocolate, tobacco, succotash, barbecue, hurricane, hammock, canoe, moccasin, totem, pow-pow, and many, many others, including a large number of place names.

Story Time

Winged Sandals is a Greek Mythology Website produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with The University of Melbourne's Centre for Classics and Archaeology. Kids will love it! Intro page has a choice between broadband version (flash) and dial up version (html). Entering will bring you to the Storytime section and top bar has other areas for kids to enjoy and learn. Below is from the about page.

Classical mythology is truly timeless because it can still create such strong visual imagery in our minds. The images of these characters have always been locked away in my imagination and I wanted to create a project that would inspire children around the world to keep dreaming.

Greek myth has been passed down to us through ancient vase painting and through oral and written traditions. I chose this subject partly because I knew that the stories of myth would inspire animators but also to use the latest technologies of digital storytelling to let the stories speak to web audiences and inspire a thirst for the classics in a new generation. This content was literally screaming for a chance to be translate onto the web.

Jason Project

The JASON Foundation for Education is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts. It was founded to administer the JASON Project, an educational project begun in 1989 by Dr. Robert D. Ballard following his discovery of the wreck of the RMS Titanic. The mission of the JASON Foundation for Education is to inspire in students a lifelong passion to pursue learning in science, math and technology through exploration and discovery. The JASON Foundation was named in the spirit of the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. The JASON Foundation for Education is the creator of two leading educational programs.  The JASON Project is a multi-disciplinary education program that sparks the imagination of students and enhances the classroom experience.  JASON Academy is an innovative approach to online professional development for teachers, emphasizing the physical sciences.

Dads

Dadstayshome.com is a place for Stay at Home Dads to find others doing the greatest job on earth.

Allergies

Pollen.com is a website that gives an allergy forecast by zip code and can email you "Allergen Alerts". If you suffer from allergies, you need accurate, reliable, timely information that allows you to consistently manage your symptoms and take control of your life. Site provides reliable up-to-the-minute allergy forecasts that show the upcoming airborne allergen conditions in your local environment. Has an allergy information area and an allergey library.

Soft Drinks and Kids Obesity

For the past few years the nation has been saturated with studies of Kids and Obesity. Latest study is on soft drinks and schools. This editorial in ZonePerfect.com gave a more indepth look at the marketing relationship between soda maufacturers and schools. A snip from article is below. Scroll down to the comments in foodisworse (a blog on typepad) and find a discussion on the sugar in cola. Most does not break down into energy. Dr. Greene (a pediatric website) has some comments on soda pop in schools. AnneCollins.com (diet website but view the page) has some tips on helping teenagers adopt a long range weight loss goal. Soft Drink by the Numbers is an excellent resource for information about the ill effects of soft drinks on your health and the environment. RallieonHealth.com (search his columns also) has a facts page about Kids and Obesity. Lastly, to be fair, ConsumerFreedom.com (The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices) argues against. "Unlike the anti-consumer activists we monitor and keep in check, we stand up for common sense and personal choice. The growing fraternity of "food cops," health care enforcers, militant activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think they know "what's best for you" are pushing against our basic freedoms. We're here to push back." Yeah, Right! Though, some arguments I do agree with. It's your coporate backing that disillusions me.

Caffeine, which, no matter how you spin it, is a mildly addictive stimulant drug, is present in Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and Mt. Dew, as well as some orange sodas and other products. Caffeine's addictiveness is well documented, and it's probably not a coincidence that six of the seven most popular soft drinks contain caffeine. Caffeine-free colas are available, but they account for only about 5% of colas made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. On the other hand, Coca-Cola and other companies have begun aggressive marketing of soft drinks, such as Surge, Josta, and Jolt, that contain 30% to 60% more caffeine than regular Coke and Pepsi. Beyond the insulin triggering effects of caffeine that we've discussed before, caffeine also increases the excretion of calcium in urine. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine (Vol 5, 1995) drinking 12 ounces of caffeine-containing soft drink causes the loss of about 20 milligrams of calcium. That loss, compounded by the relatively low calcium intake in girls who are heavy consumers of soda pop, increases the risk of osteoporosis in later life.

The soft drink giants target children aggressively. Pepsi advertises on Channel One, a daily news program shown in over 12,000 US schools. As I outlined in a previous column, "You Deserve a Break Today", the soft drink companies boost consumption and build brand loyalties in kids by paying school districts and others for exclusive "pouring rights". Dr. Pepper, for instance, recently paid the Grapevine-Colleyville, Texas, School District $3.45 million for a ten-year exclusive contract. This contract even includes rooftop advertising on selected school buildings. What's next? Naming rights, like sports stadiums? To reach kids after school, Coca-Cola is paying $60 million over ten years to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for exclusive marketing rights in more than 2,000 clubs.

Pepsi, Dr Pepper, and Seven-Up even encourage feeding soft drinks to babies by licensing their logos to Munchkin Bottling, Inc., a major maker of baby bottles. Harmless? Not exactly. According to the American Society of Dentistry for Children, infants and toddlers are four times more likely to be fed soda pop out of those bottles than out of regular baby bottles. So what do we do? We can't easily fight this marketing juggernaut aimed at our kids, at least not quickly, but we can take control of the situation in our own homes. The solutions are obvious, even if your kids won't be thrilled. Don't buy soft drinks, either diet or regular. To reduce the firestorm of protest that is sure to follow, offer your kids a substitute. Buy convenience size bottles of water (the 0 calorie waters with fruit essences are good), 100% juice (make sure it's 100% juice, not the 10% stuff), and flavored milks. Sure the milk and juices have sugar, but it's natural sugar, there's a whole lot less than a can of soda, and the other nutrients are good for them.

The Federal Trade Commission wants to educate consumers on how to spot rip-off diet ads. According to the FTC, despite it's aggressive enforcement efforts, 55% of weight loss ads contain false or unsupported claims. The FTC has put together a guide to help spot deceptive adverstisments.

Divorce

Smartmoney.com has a dozen pages on the cost of divorce in the "personal finances" area. Explains the basics of divorce, has worksheets and financial calculators.

Marriage & Divorce: The Great Divide
After so many millions of couples have divorced, you'd think that the process would have become simpler. But unfortunately, it remains a nasty, brutish and all-too-common experience. Half of all couples who marry this year will divorce and, by the time their proceedings are complete, they will spend, on average, $30,000 on legal fees alone. Divorce is second only to the death of a spouse on the psychic pain meter, according to the experts who rate such things, and has been known to trigger panic attacks and major depressive episodes.

The good news is that there are more alternative methods to reach a settlement than ever. It used to be that most divorces were handled exclusively by lawyers who haggled over only one or two assets. Now more couples are handling their own divorces or using mediators to hammer out settlements for far less money. But that doesn't make divorce today any simpler.

Lane Bryant

Lane Bryant, the national plus size retailer, is looking for a "real" woman to be the next supermodel. In partnership with Ford 12+, the plus-size division of Ford Models, Lane Bryant will choose one fabulous female to win a $25,000 Ford 12+ modeling contract. You can pick up an application at any Lane Bryant store or download it. Enter by June 11 2004.

Stockstock Film Festival

Are you an amateur film maker? Want to take a stab at editing a 40 minute film? Then visit stockstock.org and find out how. This is not about film making but about film editing. You will need a computer with a FireWire card and some hard drive space, basic video editing software, and access to a MiniDV camera or deck. The camera/deck is needed for a few minutes at the beginning and end - to capture the stock footage onto your computer, and to copy your finished movie back onto a tape so you can send it to them. There is a $20 entry fee (to defray costs of festival and website). Alot of info in the FAQ section of site. This article appeared in wired.com about the festival.

Groucho Marx

An amphiboly is a phrase that is ambiguous because of its syntactic structure. Groucho Marx (brief bio and chronology) was the master of amphibolies, ambivalence, and equivocation (give the same word two different meanings i.e. "fine for parking"). Two quote pages that depict his type of humor are from watchfuleye and wikipedia. Below are example quotes and some trivia on You Bet Your Life.

He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot.

If I held you any closer I would be on the other side of you.

You Bet Your Life was originally broadcast on radio beginning in 1947, initially moving to television in 1950 as a radio show with cameras. On the program, contestants could "say the secret word and win a hundred dollars" and a paper-mache duck would come down with the loot. People tuned in to see and hear Groucho grill the contestants, the game itself was almost inconsequential.

'You Bet Your Life' was almost cancelled before it began - the original sponsor DeSoto ("Go to see your nearest DeSoto-Plymouth dealer and tell him Groucho sent you"), assumed when they signed Groucho that he would do the show in his familiar black frock coat and painted-on mustache.

When he refused, the sponsors tried to pull the plug, but discovered that there was no clause in the comedian's contract requiring him to wear a costume - "If I can't be funny on television without funny clothes and makeup, to hell with it" was Groucho's attitude.

Get Paid to Listen

I don't know about this, but am throwing in the link anyway. Adnoodle, a New York-based marketing firm, will pay people to listen to ads, talk to telemarketers or read commercial e-mail. Visit here to learn more about it or view the FAQ page. Sounds pretty fishy to me, but you never know. Could be easy money for someone at home.

Q: How long do I have to wait to be invited?
A: Being invited is based on several variables; (1) Advertiser Demand – This will increase as membership increases (2) Your Profile - Advertisers must be interested in your profile (3) Minimum Bid Amount – If your minimum is too high you may not receive bids. (4) Consumption Profile (5) History –You will probably receive more bids if you are an active participant in accepting offers and responding to offers.

Q: How do I receive my earnings or winnings?
A: Via Paypal or electronic transfer (See Payment Policy)

Q: Whom can I talk to about this program?
A: Call 1-877-949-PAID