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A new shopping center is preparing for its grand opening in Nanjing, China.
So what, you ask?
 | Apparently Chinese fraud-repreneurs were tired of reproducing item look-a-likes. Each of the stores in this mall is a knock-off of a popular national franchise - "a McDonalds look-a-like burger bar called McDnoald’s, a Starbucks-style coffee shop called Bucksstar Coffee, and a wannabe Pizza Hut called Pizza Huh." (Read more...) |
Donald Westlake, a prolific author considered one of the most successful and versatile mystery writers in the United States, has died. He was 75. (More...)
Donald E. Westlake was a great writer because he went from the gritty Parker to the comedy of Dortmunder with apparent ease. Fifteen of his stories were turned into movies, including Payback, The Hot Rock and Cops and Robbers. His screenplay for The Grifters earned him an Oscar nomination (which almost makes What's the Worst That Can Happen forgivable).
I passed Jimmy the Kid and The Hot Rock to my kids to read, the same way that I got the books from my Dad.
Dortmunder and his crew saved the O.J. in Watch Your Back. The single bare bulb hanging over the table in the back room is off now.
G'night, Rollo.
 Order it from chapters.indigo.ca | It'd only be fitting if Westlake's funeral procession went up Rockaway Parkway and across Eastern to Grand Army Plaza, then right up Flatbush to the Manhattan Bridge. Traffic will be light on Third Avenue at 79th, especially compared to the West Side Highway. Get Real will be released in April. |
The Giving Back Fund has released its list of Most Generous Celebrities. GBF looked at public records of donations in 2007 and ranked the stars' philanthropy. Oprah Winfrey tops the generosity chart, donating more than $50 million to various charities throughout 2007.
Herb Alpert is ranked #2 in giving, surpassing the benevolence of power couple Brangelina (6), Hugh Hefner (14) and Tiger Woods (18).
The Herb Alpert Foundation sponsors awards in the arts ranging from elementary students through to fellowships for professionals. At California Institute of the Arts, the foundation provides annual fellowships of $50,000 to five artists.
In 2006, Herb Alpert released a re-mastered version of Whipped Cream and Other Delights. It went to #5 on Billboard's Jazz Chart.
Herb Alpert and former business partner Jerry Moss received the Lifetime Achievement Award and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Forty-six years after The Lonely Bull broke into the top 10 and Alpert's still there. Makes me wonder where Chuck Mangione is.
GBF'S 10 Most Generous Celebrities
1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Herb Alpert
3. Barbra Streisand
4. Paul Newman
5. Mel Gibson
6. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
7. (tie) Lance Armstrong
7. (tie) Michael Jordan
7. (tie) Eric Lindros
10. Rush Limbaugh
Tags: [Giving Back Fund] [Herb Alpert] [A & M Records]
[Oprah] [Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie]
[Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame] [Jerry Moss]
The dog was going crazy. From midnight to one, he was whining at the kitchen window then dashing to the patio door, then running into the laundry room, then back to whine at the window some more. It was obvious that something was in the yard, but I wasn't letting him out to investigate or chase.
Shortly after 1:00 a.m., I opened the door and let him go. He leapt to the ground over the stairs and ran up one side of the house, then bolted to the back corner. Then down the fence to the other corner. Across the back again and around the other side of the house. His nose was to the ground and his shoulders were hunched as he tracked the uninvited visitor's steps around the yard. He sped around the perimeter 5 times before settling in the middle of the yard. He was alert and watchful, but appeared convinced that he'd have no trouble.
After about 10 minutes, I called him to come in, but he didn't budge. Suddenly, he bolted up one side of the house. I heard an odd wail near the gate and Buddy came back to his spot in the lawn. I called him again, but he was staring between the houses. I looked but couldn't see anything.
I went out to bring him inside when he bolted up the side of the house again. Again I heard the wail and Buddy returned to his post, apparently satisfied that he'd kept it at bay. I went back inside.
On August 1, airline industry analysts warned that high fuel costs were threatening to bankrupt more than 50 European airlines. The same day, The Financial Times reported that delivery of a rescue proposal for Italy's Alitalia Airlines would be delayed due to stalled merger negotiations. Days later, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's Prime Minister, promised to save Alitalia from bankruptcy. 'We will perform another miracle and will offer a profitable national company, he said'. The Italian government owns 49% of Alitalia. The ensuing three weeks were filled with rumors of new investors and partners to save the troubled airline; until Thursday when it was confirmed that Alitalia had filed for bankruptcy protection.
You need to know that Alitalia history and Pavlov's Theory of Classical Conditioning to understand the impact this airline industry turbulence has had on me.
| Anytime I hear the words Alitalia Airlines, the song Eh Cumpari plays in my head. The Italian novelty-song from the 1950's is about the different instruments from the orchestra playing the song. Julius La Rosa sang it, backed by Archie Bleyer's band. It's The Gaylords' cover of La Rosa's #1 hit that plays in my head. (I could only find La Rosa's version to put here. |
After Moya Dillon's article in Oshawa This Week, my parents received a telephone message outlining the dwarfs' location. No gravelly-voiced ransom demand - the caller didn't know how the figures were acquired, just where to find them.
Doc, Sleepy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Bashful and Bambi's friend, Bimbo are back at Summers End.
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Unfortunately, Dopey didn't make it back. I hope it means he's lost, not that he's come to any harm.
The recovered dwarfs and Bimbo appeared to have been treated well by their captors. Happy beamed a brighter smile as his brothers were asked to comment and provide details of their experience.
"Mush," complained Grumpy, as he shrugged off a hug.
"I'm sleepy," yawned Sleepy.
Sneezy chimed in with a very loud "Ah-choo,".
Bashful whispered that he was embarrassed by all the attention.
"We are grateful to everyone who facilitated our return," Doc declared. "We are happy to be home."
Tags: [Snow White] [Lawn & Garden]
[Moya Dillon] [Oshawa This Week]
Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, pleaded guilty to vandalism after damaging an historic, hand-painted sign at Grand Canyon National Park. On March 28, they were accused of using a whiteout product and a permanent marker to deface a sign that's a National Historic Landmark.
Investigators learned of the vandalism from an Internet site operated by Deck on behalf of the Typo Eradication Advancement League, or TEAL.
According to the Internet posting, TEAL members correct typos on public signs. (The TEAL site is currently unavailable) Original and corrected signs are photographed and posted at the site. A detailed map tracks the progress of the grammar vigilantes' cross-country crusade.
In addition to being banned from national parks for a year, the two are barred from modifying any public signs and must pay restitution to repair the Grand Canyon sign. Read more...
Errors on public signs irritate me too, but I wouldn't deface a national monument in the name of good grammar. What kind of sentence includes being barred from modifying any public sign?
I have never experienced a 'whiteout emergency'; maybe I don't truly have a type-o personality.
Tags: [Jeff Deck] [Benjamin Herson]
[T.E.A.L.]
[Vandalism] [Good Grammar]
[Personality Types]
On Friday, my parents took their coffee at the cafe on the grounds of Summers End. They surveyed the yard and noticed something amiss.
Over there in the NE corner of the lot where the playhouse stands... where was Snow White?
They walked to the playhouse and were horrified to discover 6 of their concrete dwarfs were missing.
The 40" Snow White figure had been knocked down, but at least she was still there. Somebody kidnapped the dwarfs!
Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful and Dopey - all of them gone! Only Happy was left behind. (Unfortunately, an horrific accident left Happy a double-amputee several years ago).
Snow White and the seven dwarfs have been friends of the playhouse for at least 25 years. They've been a part of the Wild parties, Family Picnics, Wayne Day and several weddings. They're family - the children of the house after The Original 6 moved out.
Every few years, my Dad would cart each dwarf to the garage where my Mom would painstakingly repaint him. Once sealed and dry, my Dad would carry each concrete man back to his place. Snow White received an ultra deluxe spa treatment, including chemical peel (old paint removal), deep facial line treatment (filling weathered areas) and microdermabrasion (sanding) before hitting makeup and wardrobe.
Two fawns, Bambi and Bimbo, are usually placed as if they'd just left the cornfield - heading toward the playhouse. Bimbo was also missing.
| In order to execute the robbery, the dwarf-nappers had to park on the shoulder of the road, climb the fence, walk to the playhouse area, pick up the concrete statue (you need 2 people to carry Bimbo), carry it back |
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Four hundred students formed the Titans' Class of 2008 at a ceremony held last week. Each grad was allotted two tickets to the ceremony, but an occasion this auspicious called for all 3 of us to attend. I thought I'd be able to get 1 additional person (Jessica) into the ceremony. We'd advised grandparents that seating was restricted, and we knew it would be nearly impossible to smuggle 4 more people in.
We decided that John and Jessica would use the tickets. "I'm Andrew's Mom," ought to have been enough to get me into the gym. At the door, two bouncers directed me to wait along the wall. Apparently, being Andrew's mom didn't hold the gravitas of 'I'm with the band'.
Some of us who were waiting along the wall might be allowed in if space permitted, after everyone had taken their seats. If not, I was welcome to watch the ceremony via CCTV in the auditorium.
Soon, an unused single ticket was turned over to the door security. Since I was the only 'single' waiting along the wall, I was allowed to pass. From our seats in the 2nd-last row I could see a bit of the stage apron.
John snapped this picture before Andrew walked up on the stage to receive his diploma. Folder in hand, Andrew then walked down the stairs and along the aisle where John was waiting for the grand close-up......but the battery didn't have enough charge to use the camera.
For your benefit, I've outlined Andrew in the queue (click photo to enlarge). Take my word for it, he received his diploma; hence the headline - a quote from Jessica's praises to her brother after the ceremony.
Stacey Fearnall, a waitress at Nathaniel's Restaurant in Owen Sound, was laid off after she shaved her hair off in a local fundraiser for a cancer charity.
The 36-year-old raised almost $2,700 in pledges over four months and then had her thick, red locks shaved off in a local Cops for Cancer event on the weekend...When she showed up for work Tuesday at Nathaniel's restaurant in Owen Sound, an upscale eatery, her employers told her to take the summer off -- without pay. (Full article...)
In April, Fearnall approached owners Jeff Ferris and Dan Hilliard. They told Fearnall "they would not be pleased" if she shaved her head in the fundraiser. They encouraged her to participate in a way that would not affect her job at Nathaniel's.
At first, I thought this was a case of a woman who lost her job because of her cancer.
That would be discrimination.
That's not what happened here at all.
Rather, and despite being warned, Fearnall chose to participate in the fundraiser by shaving her head. Removing her hair violated Nathaniel's dress code standard for employees. They're allowed to outline acceptable standards. Tim Horton's doesn't allow visible piercings. Show up for a shift with a nose stud and you'll be sent home. McDonald's doesn't allow a visible tattoo; cover it or go home.
And she wasn't fired. She was laid off until she was able to comply with the company's expectations. Hilliard offered some accommodations to her, by suggesting she cover her head - a hat appropriate to the restaurant's ambiance would have been sufficient - and return to work.
If Fearnall lost her hair due to alopecia, chemotherapy or any unavoidable circumstances, and was fired my reaction would be completely different.
Sorry, but I can't turn the wheel of sympathy for her. She made her choice - the fundraiser over her job. She knew that consequences at work were likely. Ferris and Hilliard are just following through.
Poorly handled? For sure. Discrimination? No.
I commend her on the contribution to the fundraising...but the charity should have come up with a different name - Cops for Cancer? Are the police in Grey-Bruce really FOR cancer?
[Stacey Fearnall] [Nathaniel's Restaurant]
[Owen Sound] [Cops for Cancer]
[Ontario Human Rights Commission]
Photo by: James Masters (Owen Sound Sun Times)
Professor John White, a member of a committee established to advise on curriculum changes in the U.K., will explain the suggestion that 'middle class' academic subjects should be removed from the national curriculum in junior high schools.
Children should no longer be taught traditional subjects at school because they are "middle-class" creations, the advisory panel concluded. Lessons should instead cover a series of personal skills.
Pupils would no longer study history, geography and science but learn skills such as energy-saving and civic responsibility through projects and themes. ..the full article..
Energy conservation is a meaningful unit within a broader science course; ecology and conservation belong in geography; civic responsibility lessons are a by-product of studying history. It's necessary to understand how the past influences the present and predicts the future.
 Available at chapters.indigo.ca | Geography, history, science and the arts are underfunded in education now - partly because funding levels consider student achievement on standardized tests. The standard tests focus on English and Math, yet an entire generation struggles with arithmetic, grammar, reading comprehension and writing. The panel's report claims that 'the aims [of changing the curriculum] include fostering a model pupil who "values personal relationships, is a responsible and caring citizen, is entrepreneurial, able to manage risk and committed to sustainable development".' |
Mark Nimigan, Vice-Chair of Hamilton's Police Services Board, says that cleaning up the city's downtown is a priority.
At Tuesday's board meeting, Nimigan proposed the city criminalize the use of obscene language in public. (more...)
He argued that issuing fines to people who use profanity in public, in particular downtown and within the city's parks, would reduce the objectionable behavior.
Mr. Nimigan did not comment on issues related to enforcement of his proposal. When informed of the suggested regulation, I wouldn't have blamed Chief Mullan if he'd muttered '$#!+' before giving an official response.
Never mind that HPSB met in-camera yesterday to discuss 12 alleged sexual harassment charges faced by an officer - this proposed crackdown on cussing can only mean one thing:
the city has solved all other @*!#% problems in its universe.
| The proposed Anti-Swearing Statute was the lead on the local newscast. |  chapters.indigo.ca |
Here's what I don't get:
If I'm using their
laser hair removal
service, why would I
only want 50% of it removed?
This featured sign was not provided by
Spring!
Burrowing animals venture out from their hollows. Sounds of birds chirping welcome each day. The snow is gone; the increasing hours of daylight promise the temperature will continue to rise. The nights are cool (sometimes downright cold), but the bright sun during the day atones for that.
Gardeners eagerly turn the soil in their flower beds to encourage new growth of plants.
Around here, it's time for the Annual Spring Gardening Game that I call
Dead or Alive. Take a look:
Dead |
Mostly Dead |
| Alive but undesirable  |
| Alive! One Single Flower  |
| "I love winners when they cry, losers when they try." (Tom T. Hall) |  Available at chapters.indigo.ca  |
But I'm a terrible Web 2.0 friend.
A while ago, someone apparently hacked into my Facebook account and sent out some notes, wall posts and video links that were unusual.
I was alerted to the breach when a said friend contacted me to explain my recent Graffiti on the Superwall. I told the friend "That you were Poked, Super Poked, received a wall post, were invited to add an application or take a quiz by me on Facebook, is 'unusual'."
| I reviewed my settings, changed my password and secured my page. Occasionally, I have sent a legitimate video link (see right) or completed a quiz (car IQ) . Once I even sent a gift! I don't know why I'm such a bad online friend; in the real world I'm not so negligent. |
