Marvel Comics Revives Capt. America!

Marvel Comics, which killed off Captain America almost a year ago, brought the hero back to life this week...the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, is still dead and buried in Arlington National Cemetery, having been done in by assassins last March.

Now, Bucky Barnes, his sidekick from the 1940s, has become Captain America with a slightly modified costume. (Image right: Credit: Marvel Comics) He was in suspended animation since the 1940s...read the full story here:

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=114&sid=1336169

I haven't been much of a Cap fan, but I did buy Captain America #34 this week to read about it!

People saying "I need to see you in person"

If there's one thing that always puts my stomach in knots, it's when people email you and say "I want to talk to you, but need to do it in person." You KNOW that that almost always means something not good...and it happened today in work. After being unable to contact the scientist that sent me that email this morning I kept dwelling on the request, thinking "what in the world can this be about?" By 3pm I found out. Turned out that it was a revision of something that the scientist was worried was too extreme, but it was no problem at all. So, all the agonizing and stomach churning for nothing (just like Tom told me). SO - NEXT TIME YOU SAY TO SOMEONE "I need to see you in person," give them an idea about what it's about. That's a really unfair thing to do.

Winter Wonderings/Book/Prayers/Love All

WINTER WONDERINGS - Did you ever notice that when the weather turns COLD, we can't wait for summer? In the summer, we can't wait for winter! That's what we're feeling now. It's been a COLD and rainy Dec. and Jan. this year in Maryland after a scorching and dry summer that finally ended on Oct. 24th. HOWEVER, it seems like it went from 90 to 50 or 40 (it actually did in one week in Oct., and stayed there). Wind Chills in Maryland this week have been in the teens, and high temps in the 30s! (Slightly colder than normal). So, we haven't hit the SNOWIEST month (Feb.) yet, and we want warmth!

NEW BOOK: "Howl" from the editors of BARK magazine- This is a collection of short, humorous stories about dogs! Great book!

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, PLEASE: There's a lot of suffering in the world- so if you're reading this- please keep "Mom" Jill Beyer in MD, in your prayers - she's got a surgery coming up; Rick W. in KY who is coping with heart issues in his early 30s; Kathy M. in FL whose mom just passed away; John K. in VA Beach who's practically been totally rebuilt with all the surgeries he's had.

LOVE ALL: Recently in the local paper, an older "church-going" woman wrote an editorial saying how people who are gay are less of a person than she is, and how they don't deserve love, kindness or equal rights. How sad for her. Perhaps when she passes on, she'll realize that God loves ALL of us.
I will Never understand people who claim to be religious that preach hatred, intolerance and separation. All people are God's children. Jesus never turned away one person, yet people who write and speak in His name claim it's okay to hate and be intolerant. Why can't everyone just "love thy neighbor" and "treat others as they would be treated?" After all, if two people share love, and God = Love, how in the world can love be evil? Answer: It can't be.

Heath Ledger's Passing

Heath Ledger passed away yesterday, Jan. 22nd - and that's a big loss...

I've been looking forward to seeing his performance in the upcoming BATMAN movie sequel this summer. It's called "The Dark Knight." All the reviews have been extremely positive- and being a huge comic book fan since the early 1970s, I can tell you that from what I've seen, he really captures the essence of the Joker. (IMAGE LEFT: The Joker, Credit: DC Comics).

RIGHT:This is a photo I found on-line of Heath as the Joker -
Image credit: http://vrempire.com/.

Of course, I admired his performance in Brokeback Mountain as well. That was a challenging role for him, and he was really convincing. I just hope that he finds peace.

To see a trailer for "The Dark Knight (Batman)" - Featuring Heath Ledger as the Joker (Opens July 8, 2008) Click here: http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/videopage.html

Happy 61st Birthday Dolly Parton! SHE CHANGED MY LIFE

Dolly Parton's 61st birthday was this weekend, Saturday, January 19th!
Not only is she my favorite singer, but she changed my life - and helped set the direction for my attitude back in 1978 when I first heard her.
(credit: http://www.opry.com/)

I saw Dolly in the movie 9 to 5, which recently celebrated 25 years (it came out in 1979). Her love of life, people, family, friends and God were inspirational to me at 17 years old. Before I saw her and watched and learned basically about how to enjoy life - I was quiet, withdrawn and had no friends other than my family. She taught me to be courageous, outgoing, positive, and more than anything optimistic and to appreciate all small blessings. I've tried to live that way since then. If you listen to her in interviews, read her autobiography called "Dolly, My Life and Other Unfinished Business" you'll see what I mean. She pokes fun at herself, loves everyone and laughs alot. That's what I call living. You can see her website at: http://www.dollyon-line.com/news/index.shtml

BACKGROUND ON DOLLY:
Dolly Parton has written over 3,000 songs, sold more than 100 million albums and created a business empire worth more than two hundred million dollars. She's had over 24 Number One hit singles, won 7 Grammys and 8 country music awards. Born in 1948 in the Smokey Mountains near Locust Ridge in Tennessee, Dolly was the fourth child born to tobacco sharecroppers Robert Lee and Avie. Dolly was one of 12 kids.

MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD: Dollywood in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee! See it: http://www.dollywood.com/

HER UPCOMING CD:
"Backwoods Barbie" Release Date Set as fo 1/19/08:
It has just been confirmed that Backwoods Barbie is officailly set to hit stores on February 26th, only three weeks later than the initial release date. It has a GREAT new song on it called "Better Get to Livin'." Go get it!!

Happy Birthday, Dolly - You changed my life and made me an optimistic and happy person even through all the hard times. In fact, one of our dogs (a weimaraner) is named Dolly! She also epitomizes unconditional love -something you taught me was the greatest gift in life to share with all.
- Rob

Good Blogs and weather!

1) FRIEND'S BLOGS - Some really interesting blogs to check out:
a) My radio buddy: Mike Alley- On a quest to lose 80 pounds in 2008 - please encourage him!
http://www.mikealleys80in08.blogspot.com/
b) Brian's SC Weather Blog - my fellow meteorologist is on TV in SC, here's his blog:
http://briansweatherblog.blogspot.com/
c) Fitz (the renaissance man): computers, recording artist, into museums, art, travel and Will:
http://www.zentropolis.com/
d) Willy Kool: gymnastics, newly minted airplane pilot, marathoner, and video productions
http://www.willykool.com/
e) Rick W. - music, weather in Kentucky and worldwide, and Rick's health challenges.
http://kybluesky1974.blogspot.com

2) MORE WET WEATHER IN BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON: It rained again today, and will again on Sunday, Jan 13... Since the first strong cold front swept through Oct. 24, it's rained every 3rd or 4th day. I'm really tired of rain, and the doggies hate muddy paws!

Springlike Day / Tailgaters / Superhero Movie Trailers

A WARM DAY - On Friday Jan 4th it was 16F at 4am. Today, Tuesday, Jan 8th at 4pm, it's 70F -Time to Walk Dolly and Franklin outside - Work is over...The warmth is short-lived though, as a cold front is already stirring up winds and will bring cooler temps the rest of the week.

TAILGATERS - Yesterday, driving to get the dogs at Doggy Day Care http://www.cozycaninecamp.com/ (yes, they go 3 days a week to exercise, and it's great to keep them at a good weight, socialize them and keep 'em healthy) 3 people tailgated me on the highways, despite my going 5-10 mph over the speed limit. One idiot passed me on an OFF-RAMP and must've been doing 70 mph.

MOVIE TRAILERS FOR SUPERHERO FILMS I'M EXCITED ABOUT:
The Dark Knight (Batman) - Featuring Heath Ledger as the Joker: (Opens July 8)http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/videopage.html
Hellboy 2 - A supernatural Superhero: (Opens July 11)http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/hellboy2thegoldenarmy/small.html
Iron Man - Robert Downey Jr. as this millionaire armored hero -In theatres May 2, 2008
http://www.ironmanmovie.com/

"Atonement" at the Movies /Work on the Townhouse

We finally got to see "Atonement" at the movies today- it's been on our list for 2 months!
I'm not much for movies about British folks, as I find the accents sometimes difficult to understand. It was a good movie- very romantic, although there were parts when characters didn't speak at times when, if they did - things would've been clarified and life would have been good.- This drove me nuts, because I'm all about communicating. Yeah, the end made both Tom and I cry. It was worth seeing, and I give it a "B."

We didn't get a chance to work on my townhouse this weekend- even though we want to complete it by Feb. 1 to put it on the market. SO, we've decided that we need to work on it all next weekend. Sigh.

Surprise Visits are great- Our friends Steve and Jane surprised us at our local Panera for our regular early morning breakfast ritual. That was fun!

Sat. night, our friends Jeff and Gary brought over the movie "Borstal Boy" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borstal_Boy - interesting and true story of an Irish teen imprisoned in a camp in England for planning to ignite a bomb for the Irish Rep. Army in 1941. I give this a "B" as well. It's on DVD.

Prayer Request for Pat Martin- who passed away Friday night, January 4 in St. Cloud, Florida.

Dogs and Weekends / Reading a great book

Two thoughts this morning (now that the coffee kicked in):
1) Dogs don't understand weekends. We've known that for a long time- because Dolly and Franklin get up at 4am on weekends (as we do weekdays), although they DO go back to sleep until 5:30am when they see we're still trying to sleep. :)
2) Reading a fantastic book- "The Last Days of Krypton" by Kevin Anderson - a new hardcover about Superman's homeworld and how his mother and father met, how his uncle and his dad discovered their Red Sun's life coming to an end, and the planet's instability. Of course, there's General Zod, the villian - and it's a GREAT story for any Supeman fan, or anyone who enjoys science fiction. Thanks to Hugh in Atlanta for sending it to me.
Enjoy your weekend. We're hoping to see the movie "Atonement" sometime over these next two days.
Rob

Welcome to the Buzzletter Blog

Happy 2008. After writing a personal newsletter every three months since 1993, and mailing them out to friends around the U.S. since then- I was just turned on to blogging today (yeah, I'm behind the times) by my good friend Mike Alley, who started a blog of his own.

I'm not sure how much I'll update this, but it's worth a try - I am, after all, a writer for the gov't.

Here goes - After 10 wonderful days of vacation with Tom and the dogs, it was back to work this past Wednesday, January 2nd. Getting up at 4am EST is not fun, but necessary. Work was crazy catching up from vacation for both Tom and I - as expected. Now, it's the weekend, and I managed to plug through some 400 work emails in the last 3 days and more.

Dolly and Franklin are getting over chewing on rawhide bones. It turns out they don't agree with them, and they let us know from both ends, unfortunately. Poor kids. At least today, they're finally eating their food again.

It's COLD here. It was 16F at 6:15am when I took the kids to doggy daycare. Of course it was ZERO fahrenheit in Massachusetts, where my parents live. Eeesh.

Please keep Ms. Pat Martin of Orlando, FL. in your prayers. She's the mom of my friend Kathy, and Pat is failing rapidly.

That's all for now- we hope to see the movie "Atonement" this weekend, finally. Will let you know how it is.
Rob