Penny Stock

On Top of the World, looking down...

That little red dot is supposedly my house- but I think we are really across the street. Pretty neat though. I am still trying to figure out the landmarks. Try your own out here.

Mmmmm

Can I just say how much a good salad is totally underrated?

Google Jew

Here is an excerpt from an interesting e-mail I got today:

Google is widely recognized as the most popular search engine, especially by our kids doing their school work. Well, if a young girl is doing a report on the Jewish people and types in the keyword "Jew", guess what comes up? The virulent anti-Semitic web site "Jewwatch" whose mission statement proclaims it to be an "Archive of essays, articles and online books about the international Jewish conspiracy."

Click here to send an e-mail to GOOGLE letting them know how you feel about their placing a hate-filled site as the #1 search result for the search term "JEW."

R.I.P, Hoke Smith

I wouldn't consider myself a good Towson University alumni if I didn't pay tribute to the man who gave me my two diplomas.

Hoke L. Smith, the former president of Towson University whose name for many was synonymous with the institution he led for more than two decades, died yesterday of liver cancer at his home at Highfield House in Baltimore. He was 72.

During Dr. Smith's 22-year tenure, Towson dropped the word "State" from its name at his urging and saw its enrollment grow to more than 16,000 students.

FULL STORY

I did a graduate assistanship during my first year of grad school in the administration building of TU. I actually came in contact with President Smith a few times and he always seemed like a nice person.

Penny Stocks?

Can someone who is more familiar with stocks please answer this question for me. Is there one time of year that would be more popular for people to invest in penny stocks than any other time of year? I have never had more searches for "penny stocks" lead people to this site than in the past month. Just wondering. Thanks in advance for your speedy responses so I can sleep at night again.

Kate Winslet in HP 4?

via Mirror.co.uk

Kate Winslet could play the part of a young French wizard in the fourth H@rry Potter movie.

The 29-year-old mum-of-two was asked to take on the role of Fleur Delacour and husband Sam Mendes is urging her to accept.

Um, hello?!? Does anyone else agree that suspension of disbelief only goes so far?!?

Cheaper than iTunes?

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Tuesday it officially launched its online music store, which it began testing in December.

The store, which allows customers to download a song from the Internet for 88 cents, has added new artists and been expanded by 50 percent, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said.

Wal-Mart, whose service competes against 99-cent songs from Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes music store, said that for the next two months it would be the exclusive supplier of songs from artists carried by the Curb Records label.

Interesting.

Madonna to tour in Israel

via Jerusalem Post

After months of speculations and rumors, officials on Sunday confirmed that singer Madonna will include Israel as part of her 2004 Re-Invention Tour.

Full Story

I can see it now. Madonna goes to the Kotel, gets picked off the wall by Aish Hatorah. What would be more annoying: Madonna in her present state or a B.T. Madonna? Oy vey.

Today in Israel

Allison Kaplan Sommer, the author of one of my favorite blogs, An Unsealed Room had a great post today about the Yassin assasination. She is a former journalist who currently lives in Israel.

Here is an excerpt from today's post (read the whole post- it is really worth it).

That is what these three-plus years of Intifada have done to the Israeli public.

They see that when we try to make nice and compromise we get terror attacks. And when we're tough and aggressive we get terror attacks. Nothing we do seems to lower the motivation to slaughter Israeli civilians -- men, women, or children -- and in the case of Hamas, to see the state of Israel destroyed. So since there's absolutely nothing to lose by getting Yassin, and something to possibly gain -- at least temporarily derailing the Hamas leadership structure, and hopefully weakening it long-term -- so why not go ahead and do it?

It's a similar equation as the fence. Yes, building this fence is pissing off the Palestinians big-time. But does anyone think that if we stopped building it, they would be so happy and grateful, terror attacks would stop? No. No fence equals attempts at terror attacks, and a fence equals attempts at terror attacks. So why in the world shouldn't we support building a fence in the hopes of foiling a number of these attacks?

With nothing left to lose, let's try to do what we can to protect ourselves. That's the sentiment of the man on the street.

Clearly, the Israeli public seems to have all but given up on figuring out how to make the right moves in order to nudge the Palestinians towards wanting a peaceful two-state solution. They've given up. That's why there's generally support for Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan -- otherwise known as the "We're So Disgusted with the Palestinians, We're Getting the Hell Away From Them and Building a Big Wall" plan. And if they try to wage war from the other side of the wall, they'll get the same treatment as Yassin.

We're not running scared. We're just sick and tired of this.

Vet is Imploded

Full Story

I am not a big Philly sports fan, I have never been to a game at Veteran's Stadium, but having grown up in Baltimore- I understand the significance and sentimentality of a story like this. I am sure that there are a lot of Philadelphians who feel like a part of their history was imploded this morning. That is too bad.

Attention Red Sox fans

This goes out to all of the Boston Red Sox fans who have had to endure so many hardships throughout their lives. This is especially for Greg, the man with the signed Ted Williams ball on the top of his closet, who has offered us a couple of posts praying and crying for the Red Sox.

I know it is a tad rude, but I laughed when I saw it.

Not to be upstaged...

Lest anyone thinks that Greg is the only one who has been doing things around the house lately, I have been keeping just as (if not more) busy on the home front. This is not a competition, I just want to blog this for myself to read in the future so I remember how good I feel now. So attention all readers: this post is for me and me only. If you feel like reading further, go ahead- it just doesn't apply to you (although I won't be upset if you wish me congratulatory words of encouragement in the comments section).

Last year, my mother and my sister were hopelessly obsessed with "The FLY Lady." No, they did not watch old episodes of In Living Color and try to move with the women on that show- they were completely engrossed with a method of cleaning/organizing/living called FLYing. FLY stands for "finally loving yourself." Other acronyms used in this way of life are CHAOS: Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome , BO: Born Organized , and PODA: Parade of Daily Adventures (To do list). Needless to say, it was an annoying time for those who lived within a mile radius from either of them (Ma- I know that you are reading this, I apologize- but you know it is true). To make a long story short though- there was one good thing that came out of this wacky adventure. The concept of getting rid of stuff you really have no need for. For about 3-4 months my mother and sister would call me up on a daily basis and say things like "I just 'flew' 8 garbage bags worth of stuff. I am throwing 4 out and giving 4 to charity." Luckily, they are out of their Fly Lady phase, but the concpet of "Flying" old junk has stuck around in the back of everyone's minds.

So that brings us to this week. I sucessfully cleaned out my closet (you can actually walk into it now), Ezra's closet, Gila's closet and the upstairs hall closet (you can see what color the carpet is in all 3 closets- wow, is that what blue looks like?), My dresser drawers, Ezra's, and Gila's. It was an exhausting process. But I managed to give my sister 4 bags of clothes for her kids, Throw out 3 garbage bags, and tommorow AM VETS is coming to pick up the remaining 7 bags of clothes and shoes. I feel great!

The best laid plans...

Since I am making Pesach for the first time this year, I am a little more stressed than usual. I purposely worked Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this week so I would have today as a full day to run errands and do things that are easier to do without the kids around.

At 7:40 I got a call from a parent in Ezra's school saying that there has been a water-main break in Pikesville and that school has been cancelled for the day. As the class mother, I had to call all 20+ students in Ezra's class to let them know (I hate making phone calls- not sure why I am class mother). So, now I will hava a little person along for my errands.

I know this is really not a big deal. This should be the worst thing that happens. But I am just a tad frustrated and needed to vent. There, I feel better.

Welcome to Bawlmer- Home of the Orioles and Cicadas

Since this is a Baltiblog and those of us who post here and some of the readers will be affected by the upcoming arrival of the cicadas, I decided to post a link to an article on CNN about the 17-year cicadas. Enjoy!

One good thing about the arrival of the cicadas will be that all of us Baltimore Bloggers will be indoors so much that there will be blog entries a-plenty. Wait, is that a good thing or bad thing?

McCain Golden Crisp Fries: Still not sure I get it.

In case you are not as enthralled with TV commercials and the products advertised as I am, there is a new product out: McCain Golden Crisp Fries. The advertising slogan used for this product is: You won't get it, till you get' em! The deal with these fries is that they stay perfectly crispy on the outside yet still retain the wonderful flavor of a baked potato inside. Here is my review.

Golden Crisp Fries don't live up to the hype. True- they are not soggy, but they are not crispy either. They feel more like stale hard fries than anything else. I cooked the fries according to the directions on the package. I have made them twice to be sure. I am guessing that these fries stay perfectly crisp if they are deep fried but I am not going to do that for an ordinary dinner, nor does it advise that as the preferred cooking method on the package. One positive is that the fries taste pretty good.

Oh well, yet another product that I was suckered into buying that didn't live up to my expectations. I will have to put that in my back pocket with Crystal Pepsi and Pizza Flavored Pringles.

The return of Menudo

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The all-boy pop group Menudo, which launched Ricky Martin's career and sold millions of albums in Latin America and the United States, will conduct an international star search to resurrect the band, the group holding the rights to the band's name said Tuesday.

FULL STORY

Oh no, does this mean I am going to have to renew my subscriptions to Tiger Beat and Super Teen?

Another person I am smarter than.

COVINGTON, Georgia (AP) -- A Georgia woman who tried to use a fake $1 million bill to buy $1,675 worth of merchandise at Wal-Mart was arrested, and police later found two more of the bills in her purse.

The U.S. Treasury does not make $1 million bills, but similar-looking currency is sold in some souvenir shops. The fake bill featured a picture of the Statue of Liberty, police said.

"It looks real, but of course there's nothing real about this," said Stacey Cotton, police chief in Covington, about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta. "People do crazy things all the time."

FULL STORY

I feel pretty certain that my title for this entry still stands.

R.I.P. Eldin

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Robert Pastorelli, the boxer-turned-actor best known to television audiences as the house painter Eldin on long-running CBS comedy "Murphy Brown," has died, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said Tuesday.

Pastorelli, 49, was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home Monday afternoon, a coroner's spokesman said. Drug paraphernalia was found on the scene, he added, and an autopsy was to be conducted Tuesday.

FULL STORY

What a shame.

Martha

Alrighty, I can only conclude that Martha Stewart took the extra time that she wasn't spending in the courtroom recently to have plastic surgery. I believe that this was probably a BIG mistake considering the fact that she will be going to prison now. Good luck, Martha. See ya on the other side.

First Baby

Funny that this was on onlysimchas.

Congratulations.

Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?

Thanks to Bangitout for this link. This is a site with many great 80's commercial clips. My personal favorites are the Dr. Pepper, Toys "R" Us, and Hallmark clips. The list is pretty comprehensive but they are still missing a few like the Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and the Max Headrom Coke commercials.

Enjoy!

Sneak Peak of Adam

NBC has a new Sneak Peak video of Average Joe 3: Adam Returns. There is a little more substance in this promo than on the commercials (substance being a relative term here). One interesting tidbit is that some of Adam's buddies from Average Joe 1 helped select the women for this show. Should be interesting!

H@rry Potter 8?

LONDON, England (AP) -- H@rry Potter may be set to grow up.

Writer J.K. Rowling hinted Thursday that she may not stop at seven books about the adventures of the young wizard and may write a further installment featuring the adult Harry.

In a live Web chat to mark World Book Day, Rowling -- who has always insisted she'll write only seven Potter books -- was asked by a fan if she intended to write books about Harry after he leaves Hogwarts, the academy for wizards.

"Probably not. But I'll never say never because every time I do I immediately break the vow," she replied.

FULL STORY

Here is a little unsolicited advice, J.K.: don't think so far into the future. Right now, concentrate on writing book number six and make a serious effort to put some subtance into your book. The last book was a joke. There were more unnecessary words and pages than in an entire Danielle Steele book (...mind you Danielle Steele books are ALL unnecessary...elipse elipse...). I am a huge H@rry Potter fan. I recently picked up the Order of the Pheonix again to re-re-read and I found myself skipping the majority of the chapters. Enough. Let's get some meat into the books. Stop trying to impress the 8-year olds by making the book thousands of pages. Just give us a book full of content that we can think about and enjoy while we read.

I happily step off my soap box now. Thanks for listening.

Buh Bye Supersized

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Say goodbye to those supersized fries -- McDonald's is slimming down its menu.

The hamburger giant has started phasing out its trademark Supersize fries and drinks in its U.S. restaurants as part of an effort to simplify its menu and give customers choices that support a balanced lifestyle, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

By the end of 2004, Supersize will no longer be available at the nation's 13,000-plus McDonald's outlets except in certain promotions, McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said.

The move comes as the world's largest restaurant company, and fast-food chains in general, are under growing public pressure to give consumers healthier food options in a nation that has suddenly become aware of its bulging waistline and the health dangers that come with it.

FULL STORY

Because, once again, the American public can not be trusted to make decisions for themselves. Gotta love that.

H@rry Potter Anyone?

Via Greg, Via Maphet (is that correct blog ettiquette?)

HPANA has a new Prisoner of Azkaban trailer to download.

There are only a few clips in this trailer that were not in the first one but it is exciting, nevertheless. I really hope POA is better than the Chamber of Secrets. That movie did nothing for me. Then again, that was my least favorite HP book (although book 5 is coming in at a close second- unfortunately).