Monday, November 9, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The numbers tell the truth...
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Vote totals
Totals are in "Yea-Nay" format:
The original House version: 290-130 (69%-31%)
The Senate version: 73-27 (73%-27%)
The Senate version, as voted on by the House: 289-126 (70%-30%)
By party
The original House version:
Democratic Party: 152-96 (61%-39%)
Republican Party: 138-34 (80%-20%)
The Senate version:
Democratic Party: 46-21 (69%-31%)
Republican Party: 27-6 (82%-18%)
The Senate version, voted on by the House:
Democratic Party: 153-91 (63%-37%)
Republican Party: 136-35 (80%-20%)
Totals are in "Yea-Nay" format:
The original House version: 290-130 (69%-31%)
The Senate version: 73-27 (73%-27%)
The Senate version, as voted on by the House: 289-126 (70%-30%)
By party
The original House version:
Democratic Party: 152-96 (61%-39%)
Republican Party: 138-34 (80%-20%)
The Senate version:
Democratic Party: 46-21 (69%-31%)
Republican Party: 27-6 (82%-18%)
The Senate version, voted on by the House:
Democratic Party: 153-91 (63%-37%)
Republican Party: 136-35 (80%-20%)
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Adelaide Zoo's talented lyrebird is making a name for himself as an amazing mimic.
WOW!
Lyrebirds are among Australia'sbest-known native birds, even though they are rarely seen in their natural habitat. As well as their extraordinary mimicking ability, lyrebirds are notable because of the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display.
A lyrebird's call is a rich mixture of its own song and any number of other sounds it has heard. The lyrebird's syrinx is the most complexly-muscled of the songbirds, giving the lyrebird extraordinary ability, unmatched in vocal repertoire and mimicry. Lyrebirds render with great fidelity the individual songs of other birds and the chatter of flocks of birds, and also mimic other animals, human noises, machinery of all kinds, explosions, and musical instruments. The lyrebird is capable of imitating almost any sound — from a mill whistle to a cross-cut saw, and, not uncommonly, sounds as diverse as chainsaws, car engines and car alarms, fire alarms, rifle-shots, camera shutters, dogs barking and crying babies. Lyrebirds are shy birds and a constant stream of bird calls coming from one place is often the only way of identifying them and their presence. The female lyrebird is also an excellent mimic, but she is not heard as often as the male lyrebird.
A lyrebird's call is a rich mixture of its own song and any number of other sounds it has heard. The lyrebird's syrinx is the most complexly-muscled of the songbirds, giving the lyrebird extraordinary ability, unmatched in vocal repertoire and mimicry. Lyrebirds render with great fidelity the individual songs of other birds and the chatter of flocks of birds, and also mimic other animals, human noises, machinery of all kinds, explosions, and musical instruments. The lyrebird is capable of imitating almost any sound — from a mill whistle to a cross-cut saw, and, not uncommonly, sounds as diverse as chainsaws, car engines and car alarms, fire alarms, rifle-shots, camera shutters, dogs barking and crying babies. Lyrebirds are shy birds and a constant stream of bird calls coming from one place is often the only way of identifying them and their presence. The female lyrebird is also an excellent mimic, but she is not heard as often as the male lyrebird.
Friday, August 7, 2009
16 years old/ still the size of a 3 year old
When Brooke was 3 years old her body stopped aging. She just celebrated her sweet 16.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Great dancing
JK Wedding Entrance Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0
JK Divorce Entrance Dance
youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.zbr2ao86ww0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0
JK Divorce Entrance Dance
youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.zbr2ao86ww0
Sunset Vigil: a soldier's poem for the fallen
Staff Sergeant Andrew McFarlane is serving in Afghanistan. He wrote this poem after hearing of the deaths of eight fellow soldiers.
Sunset Vigil
By Staff Sergeant Andrew McFarlane
The news is spread far and wide
another comrade has sadly died
A sunset vigil upon the sand
As a soldier leaves this foreign land
We stand alone, and yet as one
In the fading light of a setting sun
We've all gathered to say goodbye
To our fallen comrade who's set to fly
The eulogy's read about their life
Sometimes with words from pals or wife
We all know when the CO's done
What kind of soldier they'd become
The padre then calls us all to pray
The bugler has Last Post to play
The cannon roars and belches flame
We will recall, with pride, their name
A minute's silence stood in place
As tears roll down the hardest face
Deafening silence fills the air
With each of us in personal prayer
Reveille sounds and the parade is done
The hero remembered, forgotten by none
They leave to start the journey back
In a coffin draped in the Union Jack
Saturday, July 18, 2009
World War Veteran,Dies at 113
Henry Allingham, British first world war veteran, dies at 113
Henry William Allingham, the world's oldest man and one of the last surviving first world war servicemen, has died at the age of 113.
Born in 1896 to an ironmonger's wife in a corner of north-east London, the veteran, whose life spanned three centuries and six monarchs, was 67 when John F Kennedy was assassinated and 73 when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.
He died this morning at the St Dunstan's care home in Ovingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex.Allingham was 14 when the war broke out. His mother begged him not to join the military, but a year after her death in 1915 he signed up.
The teenager could not have guessed he would became a symbol of the sacrifice of a generation. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving founder member of the RAF, the last man to have witnessed the Battle of Jutland and the last surviving member of the Royal Naval Air Service.
When asked recently how he had lived so long, Allingham, who held the Legion d'Honneur, said: "I don't know if there is a secret, but keeping within your capacity is vital. I've had two major breakdowns, one during the war and one after, but both when I was trying to do the work of three men. The trick is to look after yourself and always know your limitations."
It was his experiences during the war that defined the man, but for more than 80 years he refused to speak about it. After the war, Allingham went into the motor industry, eventually joining the design department at Ford before retiring in 1961.
He was finally persuaded by Dennis Goodwin who, as founder of the First World War Veterans' Association, organised reunions and trips for old soldiers.
"He'd answer the door and not let me in," recalled Goodwin, his carer and the ghost writer of his memoirs. "He'd say, 'I want to forget the war, I don't want to talk about it'. But I sent him letters about the reunions and gradually he let me in and we got talking. Eventually I got him out of his flat in Eastbourne and took him to the pier. He met other veterans and started to think, 'I could do this'. It was a very slow process – he's essentially a very private man."
Once Allingham started talking, it became clear that the scenes he witnessed of soldiers waiting to go over the top at Ypres never left him. "They would just stand there in 2ft of water in mud-filled trenches, waiting to go forward," he said. "They knew what was coming. It was pathetic to see those men like that. I don't think they have ever got the admiration and respect they deserved."
He remembered spending a night in a shellhole in Flanders. "It stank," he said. "So did I when I fell into it. Arms and legs, dead rats, dead everything. Rotten flesh. Human guts. I couldn't get a bath for three or four months afterwards."
In recent years, Allingham attended remembrance events at home and abroad, gave interviews to the media, visited schools to talk to children at least 100 years his junior and completed an autobiography, published last October.
He and his wife, Dorothy, were together for more than 50 years. "I've only ever kissed one girl: my Dorothy," he said. "We met in 1915 and married in 1918. She died in 1970. I never gave my cherry away when I went to the front. I know a lot of men who did."
Allingham leaves a family that includes five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.
Until the end of his life, Allingham's memory was sharp. Born the year the first modern Olympics were held and Queen Victoria's became the longest reigning monarch in British history, he was able to recall times that are long lost history to most of us.
"When I was 15, I came downstairs one morning, picked up mother's newspaper and, oh, what a shock! The Titanic had gone," he recalled. "The 'unsinkable' ship – but it had gone down so simple."
The former Ford worker remembered a time when cars were a rarity. "People drive fast today," he said. "When I was born the speed limit was two miles an hour. They'd only just repealed the law where a man had to walk in front of every motor car waving a flag."
He had two explanations for his longevity. The first, which proved age had not dimmed his sense of humour, was "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women".The second, however, was perhaps more thoughtful: "How have I lived so long? I never worried. In the20s there were millions of men out of work. You couldn't get a job anywhere. I wasn't worried. I'm not worried now.," he said. "I was cycling along Rotten Row one day when I saw George V come along on his horse. I took my cap off, and the King tipped his riding crop. And I said, 'Give me a job, sir, I'll do anything for you.' But it was lost in the clatter of the hooves." Max Arthur, author of the first world war oral history Last Post, had yet another explanation: "He was a very dignified, very gentle man. He was so surprised to survive the first world war that he saw whatever came next as a reward. He made the most of his life. It does exemplify in my mind that, whatever age you are, never give up, and when in doubt, sing, which is what he still does. Sheer defiance is the reason he keeps going."
Last month, Allingham seemed to agree: "I'm not the kid I used to be, but I still get around. You make your own happiness, whatever age you are. Seeing the funny side of life is useful, and I've always had a sense of humour. People ask me, what's the secret of a long life? I don't know."
The former Ford worker remembered a time when cars were a rarity. "People drive fast today," he said. "When I was born the speed limit was two miles an hour. They'd only just repealed the law where a man had to walk in front of every motor car waving a flag."
He had two explanations for his longevity. The first, which proved age had not dimmed his sense of humour, was "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women".
The second, however, was perhaps more thoughtful: "How have I lived so long? I never worried. In the20s there were millions of men out of work. You couldn't get a job anywhere. I wasn't worried. I'm not worried now.," he said. "I was cycling along Rotten Row one day when I saw George V come along on his horse. I took my cap off, and the King tipped his riding crop. And I said, 'Give me a job, sir, I'll do anything for you.' But it was lost in the clatter of the hooves."Max Arthur, author of the first world war oral history Last Post, had yet another explanation: "He was a very dignified, very gentle man. He was so surprised to survive the first world war that he saw whatever came next as a reward. He made the most of his life. It does exemplify in my mind that, whatever age you are, never give up, and when in doubt, sing, which is what he still does. Sheer defiance is the reason he keeps going."
Last month, Allingham seemed to agree: "I'm not the kid I used to be, but I still get around. You make your own happiness, whatever age you are. Seeing the funny side of life is useful, and I've always had a sense of humour. People ask me, what's the secret of a long life? I don't know."
Born in 1896 to an ironmonger's wife in a corner of north-east London, the veteran, whose life spanned three centuries and six monarchs, was 67 when John F Kennedy was assassinated and 73 when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.
He died this morning at the St Dunstan's care home in Ovingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex.Allingham was 14 when the war broke out. His mother begged him not to join the military, but a year after her death in 1915 he signed up.
The teenager could not have guessed he would became a symbol of the sacrifice of a generation. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving founder member of the RAF, the last man to have witnessed the Battle of Jutland and the last surviving member of the Royal Naval Air Service.
When asked recently how he had lived so long, Allingham, who held the Legion d'Honneur, said: "I don't know if there is a secret, but keeping within your capacity is vital. I've had two major breakdowns, one during the war and one after, but both when I was trying to do the work of three men. The trick is to look after yourself and always know your limitations."
It was his experiences during the war that defined the man, but for more than 80 years he refused to speak about it. After the war, Allingham went into the motor industry, eventually joining the design department at Ford before retiring in 1961.
He was finally persuaded by Dennis Goodwin who, as founder of the First World War Veterans' Association, organised reunions and trips for old soldiers.
"He'd answer the door and not let me in," recalled Goodwin, his carer and the ghost writer of his memoirs. "He'd say, 'I want to forget the war, I don't want to talk about it'. But I sent him letters about the reunions and gradually he let me in and we got talking. Eventually I got him out of his flat in Eastbourne and took him to the pier. He met other veterans and started to think, 'I could do this'. It was a very slow process – he's essentially a very private man."
Once Allingham started talking, it became clear that the scenes he witnessed of soldiers waiting to go over the top at Ypres never left him. "They would just stand there in 2ft of water in mud-filled trenches, waiting to go forward," he said. "They knew what was coming. It was pathetic to see those men like that. I don't think they have ever got the admiration and respect they deserved."
He remembered spending a night in a shellhole in Flanders. "It stank," he said. "So did I when I fell into it. Arms and legs, dead rats, dead everything. Rotten flesh. Human guts. I couldn't get a bath for three or four months afterwards."
In recent years, Allingham attended remembrance events at home and abroad, gave interviews to the media, visited schools to talk to children at least 100 years his junior and completed an autobiography, published last October.
He and his wife, Dorothy, were together for more than 50 years. "I've only ever kissed one girl: my Dorothy," he said. "We met in 1915 and married in 1918. She died in 1970. I never gave my cherry away when I went to the front. I know a lot of men who did."
Allingham leaves a family that includes five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.
Until the end of his life, Allingham's memory was sharp. Born the year the first modern Olympics were held and Queen Victoria's became the longest reigning monarch in British history, he was able to recall times that are long lost history to most of us.
"When I was 15, I came downstairs one morning, picked up mother's newspaper and, oh, what a shock! The Titanic had gone," he recalled. "The 'unsinkable' ship – but it had gone down so simple."
The former Ford worker remembered a time when cars were a rarity. "People drive fast today," he said. "When I was born the speed limit was two miles an hour. They'd only just repealed the law where a man had to walk in front of every motor car waving a flag."
He had two explanations for his longevity. The first, which proved age had not dimmed his sense of humour, was "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women".The second, however, was perhaps more thoughtful: "How have I lived so long? I never worried. In the20s there were millions of men out of work. You couldn't get a job anywhere. I wasn't worried. I'm not worried now.," he said. "I was cycling along Rotten Row one day when I saw George V come along on his horse. I took my cap off, and the King tipped his riding crop. And I said, 'Give me a job, sir, I'll do anything for you.' But it was lost in the clatter of the hooves." Max Arthur, author of the first world war oral history Last Post, had yet another explanation: "He was a very dignified, very gentle man. He was so surprised to survive the first world war that he saw whatever came next as a reward. He made the most of his life. It does exemplify in my mind that, whatever age you are, never give up, and when in doubt, sing, which is what he still does. Sheer defiance is the reason he keeps going."
Last month, Allingham seemed to agree: "I'm not the kid I used to be, but I still get around. You make your own happiness, whatever age you are. Seeing the funny side of life is useful, and I've always had a sense of humour. People ask me, what's the secret of a long life? I don't know."
The former Ford worker remembered a time when cars were a rarity. "People drive fast today," he said. "When I was born the speed limit was two miles an hour. They'd only just repealed the law where a man had to walk in front of every motor car waving a flag."
He had two explanations for his longevity. The first, which proved age had not dimmed his sense of humour, was "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women".
The second, however, was perhaps more thoughtful: "How have I lived so long? I never worried. In the20s there were millions of men out of work. You couldn't get a job anywhere. I wasn't worried. I'm not worried now.," he said. "I was cycling along Rotten Row one day when I saw George V come along on his horse. I took my cap off, and the King tipped his riding crop. And I said, 'Give me a job, sir, I'll do anything for you.' But it was lost in the clatter of the hooves."Max Arthur, author of the first world war oral history Last Post, had yet another explanation: "He was a very dignified, very gentle man. He was so surprised to survive the first world war that he saw whatever came next as a reward. He made the most of his life. It does exemplify in my mind that, whatever age you are, never give up, and when in doubt, sing, which is what he still does. Sheer defiance is the reason he keeps going."
Last month, Allingham seemed to agree: "I'm not the kid I used to be, but I still get around. You make your own happiness, whatever age you are. Seeing the funny side of life is useful, and I've always had a sense of humour. People ask me, what's the secret of a long life? I don't know."
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Family Around the World
My son had time off while in Japan and took the time to get in touch with his Uncle Ted and Family. I am pround that he thought to look up them up and they all got together for a visit. family is important so take the time visit when you can.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Remember "safety" in the work place.
Will they come home tonight?
Some of this is because it is "Hilariously Gruesome Work Safety Video"
Blast from the past!
Safety follow up to my last video - Please be safe
Spreading Grandma's Ashes During A Skydive
Surfed into this video on Live Leak and thought you might also enjoy.
Two people, Nora and Jesus, came to Skydive New Mexico from Santa Fe. They wanted to spread their grandmother's ashes in a skydive. I volunteered, and shot this video for them. Jesus wrote in my logbook, 'We will never forget this. This experience has made me appreciate life more and more.'
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=840_1186277348
Two people, Nora and Jesus, came to Skydive New Mexico from Santa Fe. They wanted to spread their grandmother's ashes in a skydive. I volunteered, and shot this video for them. Jesus wrote in my logbook, 'We will never forget this. This experience has made me appreciate life more and more.'
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=840_1186277348
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
"Stanad By Me"
On June 24, Iranian Superstar Andy Madadian went into an LA recording studio with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and American record producers Don Was and John Shanks to record a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran. This version of the old Ben E. King classic is not for sale - it was not meant to be on the Billboard charts or even manufactured as a CD…..it’s intended to be downloaded and shared by the Iranian people…to give voice to the sentiment that all people of the world stand together….the handwritten Farsi sign in the video translates to “we are one”. If you know someone in Iran - or someone who knows someone in Iran - please share this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RASKaZFZtS8
Hat tip to Flapping Aces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RASKaZFZtS8
Hat tip to Flapping Aces
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