Your Family Tree

I'm not sure why, but a couple of years ago I became interested in find out about my family tree. In order to do so, it seems that the best website out there is Ancestry.com.

This site is expensive. I have been paying $19.95 per month for quite awhile. There are times when I hit too many dead ends so I quit for months at a time...but I don't stop paying. They get you hooked pretty quickly. After all...you don't want to lose all that work.

Ancestry.com has access to public documents like Census, Marriage, Birth and Death records etc. In addition, you get to take advantage of the work that others have done. Once you find out that your people just happen to intersect with other family trees, well that is when the fun begins. Ancestry will help you hook their work to your tree.

At any rate, it does help to have last names and maiden names of as many of the ancestors as possible. Otherwise you can confuse Margaret Jane Miller with Margaret Josephine Miller...etc.

Give them a try.

Newsweek's Behind the 2008 Campaign Videos

If you have any interest in learning about the "real" Sarah Palin or anything else that might have happened within earshot of reporters, you really must listen to the video interviews from the reporters.

We really have to remember who Sarah Palin is and was during this campaign. I really find it hard to believe anything that comes out of her mouth. I know that there was some manipulations from McCain's camp to put the loss and their ineffectiveness as campaign staff on to the back of Sarah Palin. However, there are too many reporters talking to too many people within the campaign. YES...she did buy the clothes. YES...she had campaign staffers put it on their credit cards. Why lie about it? Sarah Palin will say anything and do anything. In addition, she won't be extremely articulate about her attempts to convince the media and American public...but she will give it more than the college try.

She is everywhere, on Today Show, Fox...you name it they are interviewing her. But it is very apparent that she can't lie very well. She isn't smooth about it. She contradicts herself at every other sentence.

There is usually fire where you see smoke. It was true of Bill Clinton and his affairs that leaked during his campaign and his presidency. It was true of Tom Delay, John Edwards, Larry Craig etc. on their rumours coming to life. Karma is a bitch and it will bite you in the ass before you can look around to see what was coming. The truth always catches up with you eventually.

So Sarah...you can't be president....EVER. You are interested in covering up Troopergate, your teenage daughter's pregnancy, Neiman Marcusgate not to mention the mysterious way that you were able to have that new house on Lake Lucille that Todd built with a few of his buddies in his spare time. You find those acts more interesting to cover up and lie about than you find the search for common knowledge. You don't have intellectual curiosity. You have social curiosity. Social Curiosity...what will it take for me to get to that place of stature without really knowing or preparing for the actual job? Who will I have to befriend? Who will I need to step on? These are the curiosities in which Palin specializes.

It must be exhausting keeping up with all the lies. Seriously, there is no time left to read history or learn about the world. Especially with 5 children to care for. Sarah really reminds me of my sister...all over the place and always just scratches the surface. She is totally incapable of going too deep or get to the core of anything. And most of all she reminds me of my sister because.....it is all about her...not her children, family, husband or friends. It is all about her because "She Deserves This"!

Never mind the fact that "This" was never Earned.

Word for the day...profligacy

Main Entry:
prof·li·ga·cy

Pronunciation:
\ˈprä-fli-gə-sē\

Function: noun

Date: 1738

: the quality or state of being profligate

profligate
2 entries found.
1profligate (adjective)
2profligate (noun)

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Profligate Definition
What Is Profligate? Find Out w/the Dictionary Toolbar
Dictionary.alottoolbars.com
Main Entry:
1prof·li·gate
Pronunciation:
\ˈprä-fli-gət, -ˌgāt\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Latin profligatus, from past participle of profligare to strike down, from pro- forward, down + -fligare (akin to fligere to strike); akin to Greek phlibein to squeeze
Date:
1647
1 : completely given up to dissipation and licentiousness 2 : wildly extravagant : prodigal
— prof·li·gate·ly adverb

Crazy Architecture

Crazy Architecture

I love architecture that is out of the box (or in the box but a better version of the box). I wish I had the talent, vision and the basic grasp of physics that it takes to construct these great structures.

Word for the day....sine qua non

sine qua non

si·ne qua non

Pronunciation:
\ˌsi-ni-ˌkwä-ˈnän, -ˈnōn also ˌsē-; also ˌsī-ni-ˌkwā-ˈnän\

You can find an audio version of the pronunciation here

Function:
noun

Inflected Form(s):
plural sine qua nons also sine qui·bus non \-ˌkwi-(ˌ)bu̇s- also -ˌkwī-\

Etymology:
Late Latin, without which not
Date:
1602

Definition:
: something absolutely indispensable or essential

Idiom:
An essential element or condition, as in A perfect cake is the since qua non of a birthday party. This phrase is Latin for "without which not" and has been used in English since about 1600. It appears more in writing than in speech.

will.i.am

I forgot about this one. Watching Oprah today and I was reminded of this great video. I am so out of it I wasn't sure who put it together....it was Will I Am (or will.i.am) from the Black Eyed Peas. I like him.


Here is the New will.i.am song debuting on Oprah today. Hopefully I can get the whole video soon.

One more thing....

Mr. I and I have said for 2 years now that Obama's campaign and the world during this election cycle has been eerily similar to the last season of the West Wing. The last season for that wonderful show was 2005, a full 3 years before this Presidential Race. However, as the days past and more of the campaign revealed itself, we kept looking at each other and almost getting chills.

Similarities you ask?

Alan Alda played Arnold Vinick (and won an Emmy I might add), an older gentleman Senator with years of experience. He was a moderate Republican who didn't get quite as "right-wing" as McCain pretended to be during his campaign, but you get the idea.

Jimmy Smits played Matt Santos, the young Hispanic Senator who selects Bartlett's Chief of Staff as his V.P. pick. Leo was an older more experienced Washington insider that gave weight to the ticket.

Do we see some similarities already?

That is just the start. The TV had the Nuclear Leak in California that caused the race to swing in the favor of the Democratic Santos who was against Nuclear Energy. That was the show's catastrophe....and what did we have in real life? The Economy crashed.

I won't give away the whole season, but trust me, the similarities don't end there.

Next thing I know I overhear CNN today in passing about Rahm Emanuel being chosen as Obama's Chief Of Staff. Turns out that Rahm Emanuel worked in the Clinton Administration about the time that West Wing was in its heyday. The character of Josh Lymon (Deputy Chief of Staff) was based on who??? RAHM EMANUEL. Interesting!

There's more. It seems that Rahm Emanuel's brother is Ari Emanuel. Has anyone seen Ari Gold (Jermey Piven) on Entourage? The character of Ari Gold was based on Ari Emanuel.

Read More About it here

Life imitates Art and Art imitates Life.

Word for the day....agita

Agita...another SAT word I just read. I really should be more proficient with language and vocabulary, but...

agita

Main Entry:
ag·i·ta
Pronunciation:
\ˈa-jə-tə\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
S Italian dialect pron. of Italian acido, literally, heartburn, acid, from Latin acidus
Date:
1982
: a feeling of agitation or anxiety

VOTE!

GO VOTE!!!

From Moveon.org:

Can you believe it? Election Day is finally, finally here!

There are lots of people out there who support Barack Obama but still aren't sure how, when, or where to vote. It's more common than you think—some of the people who have questions are probably your friends or coworkers.

So we've compiled all the info people need to vote, below. Not just where to go, but also what to do if there's a problem.

We're aiming to get this out to 200,000 voters by 10 a.m. Please forward this email on to everyone you know—and then click here to tell us how many people you sent it to so we can track our impact together.

Thanks!

Election 2008 Voting Information

Today, November 4th, is Election Day! Remember to vote—not just for Barack Obama, but for Congressional, state, and local candidates as well.

Where and when do I vote?
Find your polling place, voting times, and other important information by checking out these sites and the hotline below. These resources are good, but not perfect. To be doubly sure, you can also contact your local elections office.

Obama's VoteForChange site: voteforchange.com

League of Women Voters' site: vote411.org/pollfinder.php

Obama's voter hotline: 877-US4-OBAMA (877-874-6226)

What should I do before I go?

After you've entered your address on either Vote For Change or Vote411, read the voting instructions and special rules for your state.

Voting ID laws vary from state to state, but if you have ID, bring it.
Check out all the voting myths and misinformation to look out for: http://truth.voteforchange.com/

What if something goes wrong?

Not on the voter list? Make sure you're at the right polling place, then demand a provisional ballot.
If you're voting on an electronic machine with a paper record, verify that the record is accurate.
Need legal help? Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
If you encounter a problem, try to videotape the situation and submit it to VideoTheVote.org
Want to do more?
Text all of your friends: "Vote Obama today! Pass it on!"
Make calls from home for Obama.

Now, everybody go vote!!!

*** Forward this email widely ***
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 4.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to Marla Sanderson on November 3, 2008. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Starbucks Gives Free Coffee TO ALL VOTERS!!

Backstage at SNL...

I'm not a McCain Fan, but I found this interesting...
It was also a trip down memory lane because I don't remember the time he hosted SNL.