Random Thoughts and Comments on the News .........

Just a few stories that caught my attention this week .......................

1) WILLIAM IS SINGLE AGAIN! I am so excited for 20-singles everywhere! Rejoice. Apparently the Sun had the exclusive story on this (which explains why I didn't get the "breaking news" alert on my blackberry. Here are a few exerts for those of you who love to "Royal Watch" as much as I. The story implies that the 24-year old future King frustrated the lovely Ms. Middleton because he enjoyed drinking with his Army buddies and did not commit enough to the relationship! SHOCKING!

PRINCE William’s romance with Kate Middleton was doomed when he decided to put Army life first, pals claimed last night.
From the outside all the signs seemed to suggest the young lovers were just weeks away from announcing their intention to wed.
But in reality, it is understood they had been on a downward spiral since Kate saw the 24-year-old future king passing out from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in December last year.
Friends say William, now a fully-fledged officer in the Blues and Royals, has engrossed himself in Army life — preferring to go out drinking with his colleagues than drive back to London to see Kate.
When he began his 2½-month tank commander course at the Army’s school of armoury in Bovington, Dorset, on March 16, the relationship was in freefall.
One close friend of the couple said: “As far as Kate is concerned, William simply hasn’t been paying her enough attention.
“She is stuck in London while he is living in an officer’s mess in Dorset. Kate feels hugely frustrated that their relationship just seems to be going backwards at a rate of knots.
“At university they were living together. Now, nearly three years on, they are lucky if they see each other once a week.
“When he does get a night off, it appears to Kate that William would rather spend time drinking with his new-found Army pals.”
While millions of people will be shocked to read that the world’s most eligible bachelor is back on the market, friends of the couple will be equally surprised.
Any cracks in their relationship were hidden from all but the couple’s closest circle.

2) The Imus Story will not die. I was as disgusted by Imus comments as everyone should be. They were insensitive, inappropriate, and cruel. CBS Radio took appropriate action. That said, I hope people take notice of this brilliant op-ed peice by Harvey Fierstein in the New York Times, titled Our Prejudices, Ourselves.

AMERICA is watching Don Imus's self-immolation in a state of shock and awe. And I'm watching America with wry amusement.
Since I'm a second-class citizen -- a gay man -- my seats for the ballgame of American discourse are way back in the bleachers. I don't have to wait long for a shock jock or stand-up comedian to slip up with hateful epithets aimed at me and mine. Hate speak against homosexuals is as commonplace as spam. It's daily traffic for those who profess themselves to be regular Joes, men of God, public servants who live off my tax dollars, as well as any number of celebrities.
In fact, I get a good chuckle whenever someone refers to "the media" as an agent of "the gay agenda." There are entire channels, like Spike TV, that couldn't fill an hour of programming if required to remove their sexist and homophobic content. We've got a president and a large part of Congress willing to change the Constitution so they can deprive of us our rights because they feel we are not "normal."
So I'm used to catching foul balls up here in the cheap seats. What I am really enjoying is watching the rest of you act as if you had no idea that prejudice was alive and well in your hearts and minds.
For the past two decades political correctness has been derided as a surrender to thin-skinned, humorless, uptight oversensitive sissies. Well, you anti-politically correct people have won the battle, and we're all now feasting on the spoils of your victory. During the last few months alone we've had a few comedians spout racism, a basketball coach put forth anti-Semitism and several high-profile spoutings of anti-gay epithets.
What surprises me, I guess, is how choosy the anti-P.C. crowd is about which hate speech it will not tolerate. Sure, there were voices of protest when the TV actor Isaiah Washington called a gay colleague a "faggot." But corporate America didn't pull its advertising from "Grey's Anatomy," as it did with Mr. Imus, did it? And when Ann Coulter likewise tagged a presidential candidate last month, she paid no real price.
In fact, when Bill Maher discussed Ms. Coulter's remarks on his HBO show, he repeated the slur no fewer than four times himself; each mention, I must note, solicited a laugh from his audience. No one called for any sort of apology from him. (Well, actually, I did, so the following week he only used it once.)
Face it, if a Pentagon general, his salary paid with my tax dollars, can label homosexual acts as "immoral" without a call for his dismissal, who are the moral high and mighty kidding?
Our nation, historically bursting with generosity toward strangers, remains remarkably unkind toward its own. Just under our gleaming patina of inclusiveness, we harbor corroding guts. America, I tell you that it doesn't matter how many times you brush your teeth. If your insides are rotting your breath will stink. So, how do you people choose which hate to embrace, which to forgive with a wink and a week in rehab, and which to protest? Where's my copy of that rule book?
Let me cite a non-volatile example of how prejudice can cohabit unchecked with good intentions. I am a huge fan of David Letterman's. I watch the opening of his show a couple of times a week and have done so for decades. Without fail, in his opening monologue or skit Mr. Letterman makes a joke about someone being fat. I kid you not. Will that destroy our nation? Should he be fired or lose his sponsors? Obviously not.
But I think that there is something deeper going on at the Letterman studio than coincidence. And, as I've said, I cite this example simply to illustrate that all kinds of prejudice exist in the human heart. Some are harmless. Some not so harmless. But we need to understand who we are if we wish to change. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should confess to not only being a gay American, but also a fat one. Yes, I'm a double winner.)
I urge you to look around, or better yet, listen around and become aware of the prejudice in everyday life. We are so surrounded by expressions of intolerance that I am in shock and awe that anyone noticed all these recent high-profile instances. Still, I'm gladdened because our no longer being deaf to them may signal their eventual eradication.
The real point is that you cannot harbor malice toward others and then cry foul when someone displays intolerance against you. Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged. Rise up in righteousness when you witness the words and deeds of hate, but only if you are willing to rise up against them all, including your own. Otherwise suffer the slings and arrows of disrespect silently.

3) Is it any surprise that Larry Birkhead is the "baby daddy"? No. Am I excited that Howard K. Stern is suing Anna's mother for Slander? Absolutely! Bring it on!

That is this weeks "pop culture wrap up". Congratulations to Bill and Tara who welcomed "Kaden Desmond" earlier this week! And a "goodbye" to Jeanne Timmons. We will miss you!

Webkinz

Meet Ariel. She is our new virtual friend. I will, infact, buy anything.

Happy Easter!

And as my brother-in-law reminds us every year ................... HE HAS RISEN!

One can not even give Easter even a passing thought without thinking of the Marshmallow PEEP. Those little Chicks are the Tree of Christmas, the Menorah of Hanukkah and the Cupid of Valentines Day! The Peep is the center of the Easter Holiday (I guess some people would say that Easter is really about the Resurrection of Jesus ........ but those people are not reading this blog).

Every year the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper has a "Peeps Diorama Contest". Apparently the only rules are that it has to have marshmallow Peeps Easter candies in it. My friend Tim, at the urging of a coworker entered this years contest and out of over 300 entries WON for "Run Silent, Run Peep"! I am not sure what he got for winning this prestigious award, but he is probably just happy that for the first time in a LONG time, he could do something remarkably creative that his boss can't take credit for!

The caption for this brilliant peice?

"After navigating the USS Peepfish around a deadly minefield, Captain Chick McPeep launches a torpedo against the forces of evil in the WWII submarine film classic - "Run Silent, Run Peep""

Tim, I am proud of you! Everyone else, a photo of Tim's creation is above, but, I strongly encourage you to check out the article and and runner ups. AMERICA IS A WONDERFUL COUNTRY!

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VERY cool personality profile

The internet is FULL of Personality analysis tools. I generally think they are crap, but take them regulary because I spend a LOT of time on the internet. This one is pretty cool. Give it a try. If nothing else the photography is beautiful .

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Obsessed

I have found a new obsession, and I am NOT proud.

I have, for the first time, discovered the Dollar Store. I discovered them about a week ago when I checked one out after reading about them on some blogs trying to come up with ideas for Ms. Beans princess party. To date, I have been to three (but one of them I visited twice). I have spend a small fortune on shit that I otherwise NEVER would have looked at ......... because it was a dollar! I probbly would have been better off just burning a couple of $20 bills at home and saved the gas. Let me try and recount my trips for you:

Trip 1 - The dollar Store - Rose Hill Shopping Center (I had about 4 minutes killing time before a Dr. appointment).

• Replacement Princess Puzzle for Baby Bee (she ate the first)
• Some plastic Ariel disks (still don't know what they are) for Ms. Bean.
• Pink Ribbon for Princess Wands
• Purple Ribbon for Princess Wands
• Party Invitations for Princess Party
• Stickers (don't now why)

Trip 2 - The Dollar Store - Springfield with Sarah waiting for a Birthday Party to start. Searching for a Tiera because I needed to throw away her Tiera making kit after the Chocking incident. Never did find the Tiera (though there were plenty at Rose Hill the day before). Ended up getting it at Target for $6 and Bean looked at it for about 6 minutes before loosing interest.

• 8 Purple Purses for Princess Party
• Comb and Mirror set for Ms. Bean
• Comb and Mirror set for Baby Bee
• Pipe Cleaners for Princess Rings

Trip 3 - The Dollar Store - Rose Hill - AGAIN. Specific Purpose - EASTER

• 2 Egg Dying kits
• 2 more purple purses (I was afraid 8 wouldn't be enough)
• 2 table clothes for princess party
• cutlery for princess party
• 2 packages Purple plates for Princess Party
• 2 packages construction paper
• 2 Calculators
• Easter Egg Grass
• 2 packages pens
• Glitter for Princess Wands
• 2 packages Napkins for Princess Party

Trip 4 - Landmark Mall with Mom and Girls. The store was awful, smelled musty and messy. Didn't stop me from spending money.

• 2 tiny plastic chairs for the deck
• small plastic table to match chairs
• Straws for Princess Wands
• Elmo book (because you can never have enough Elmo books).
• 3 packages for tumbler glasses for Princess Party
• 2 Jump Ropes for girls
• ANOTHER Table Cloth for Princess Party

I am sure that I am missing at least three items so, it looks like in just a couple of days I have spent $50 on crap I didn't need or want. I already had the Party favors for the Princess Party and upon returning home discovered that I already had enough Purple tableware to feed all of Queen Marys Court! Clearly, I need to buy a franchise!

An Oldie but Goodie

This one has been around for a while but I find it calming at times. I also just noticed that it started with a man named Brashier. Ahhhhh. The things some teams can do with talent.

Happy April Fools!

Hi and Happy Spring.

The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom in Washington, reminding us why we live here. There is no place more beautiful then DC the last week of March.

April 1st means tonight is the premiere of The Tudors! That is the cause of much excitement in our house.

April 1 also begins Day 1 of my much needed diet and exercise routine. Let's just say I have fallen a little behind on those new years resolutions and with bathing suit season around the corner I really need to get serious. So, out with the cheesecake and other related comfort foods, in with the saw dust and despair. At least until my jeans fit again (which is a long way off). It is important to note that this most recent weight gain can not in ANY WAY be blamed in the girls. It has been all about fatty foods, little exercise, and no will-power.

I have committed to completing the Nashville 1/2 Marathon at the end of the month and Baltimore 1/2 Marathon in October. I am also entertaining the idea of signing up for the Philadelphia Marathon in November. I will keep you posted. Any babysitting volunteers for the 2nd weekend in November?

I have a busy week ahead of my but promise to write on any diet progress (and of course whine about my failures). First, I need to figure out how to reach Erie Insurance and get my car fixed (I was rear ended last week). Then, I will sign up for a CPR class (decided a refresher was necessary after the paramedics were called Friday because Baby-Bee choked on a bead. All ended well though I will probably never be the same). Lastly, I need to read up on how to get my 3 1/2 year old to sleep. She refuses to go to sleep before 10:00 pm (we put her in bed at 8:00 pm), wonders into our room several times during the course of the night, and gets up by 6:30. It is a constant sourse of tension and we are all walking on egg shells due to sleep deprivation. Any advise? Oh, before you ask this started before the accident and paramedic visit, though they did not help the situation.

BTW: Please note that after an accident and chocking incident in one day, I am further convinced that the girls are safer in daycare .............