Christmas with Amy and Vince!

(PICTURE: The only one we took at the concert- we were really close to the stage)
This week we saw Amy Grant and hubby Vince Gill perform their Christmas Concert at Baltimore's Lyric Opera House. It was a fantastic show. Tom loves Amy Grant, and I love Vince Gill- together they were incredible. Funny, personable, warm and wonderful. Amy performed her many unique Christmas hits, including a great new one called "I Need a Silent Night" off her new Christmas CD. This song makes the CD well worth it. Vince brought the house down with his version of "O Holy Night" and made me tear up with a song he wrote about Christmas after his big brother passed away (reminding me of my dad's passing this year). Amy and Vince covered the classics and had a great band, and beautiful set, too. THIS was the best Christmas show we've ever seen!

The Evil That People Do to Dogs

My friend and co-worker Rebecca and her husband have a dachshund, and foster others. Today she sent me this photo of a dog she's newly fostering from the North American Dachshund Rescue. There are many stories of dogs that come from this kind of abuse.
Rebecca said that this little guy was found in a dumpster covered in paint - weighing in at about half his normal weight (7-8 lbs) of 15-16 lbs...he is being treated for an incredibly bad case of heartworms....it is believed that the worms have done so much damage that he may not be able to continue on....but time will tell...and in the mean time, he will be warm, loved and have a full belly.
It totally disgusts me that humans could EVER conceive of doing such evil to innocent animals. If ever I see that kind of behavior, the person doing it will get a lesson they'll never forget (and likely won't ever be able to sit down again, because other parts of their anatomy will be in the way after I'm done with them).
There are MANY dogs like this little guy that need good homes, or foster homes.

Congress OKs bill to help retirees protect savings plans

Tom and I talk about how much money people are losing in their 401Ks all the time (including us). Good news! Congress is doing something for us about it. See the article below.
By Sandra Block, USA TODAY
Congress approved legislation that would provide relief to retirees who want to avoid inflicting further damage on their battered retirement savings plans.
The bill, which President Bush is expected to sign, allows retirees to defer withdrawals from their 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts in 2009 without triggering a penalty. Separately, it would temporarily ease funding rules for traditional pension plans.
Ordinarily, seniors age 70½ and older are required to withdraw a minimum amount from their tax-deferred retirement savings plans every year and pay taxes on the money. The amount is based on a life expectancy factor calculated by the IRS and the value of their retirement plans at the end of the previous year. Seniors who ignore the requirement face a penalty equal to 50% of the amount they should have withdrawn.
This year, the rule has created considerable angst among retirees who have seen the value of their retirement plans shrink dramatically since Dec. 31, 2007. Unlike younger retirees, they don't have the option of postponing their withdrawals until their investments recover. Many have postponed taking minimum withdrawals in hopes that Congress or the Treasury Department will provide some relief.
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2008-12-11-ira-savings-retirement_N.htm?csp=Daily%20Briefing

DC Comic's "Final Crisis" - UGH!

(Image credit: DC Comics)
I'm a BIG fan of DC comics and their superheroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman, Red Tornado, and many more. I've been reading DC comics since my dad got me started on them back in the early 1970s when I was around 11 or 12. I've never stopped enjoying them since then.
Recently, DC Comics started a new series that is supposed to revamp the foundations of a number of their major characters. It's called "FINAL CRISIS." This follows the really enjoyable and awesome "Infinite Crisis" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths" series in the 1980s and then 1990s, where the "multiverse" and all of the DC heroes faced universal and multiverse challenges. Those were GREAT classic stories.
This year, DC has done "Final Crisis." Some of the spin-offs are good, like "Legion of 3 worlds," but Final Crisis in my opinion, is one of the darkest, most depressing, Confusing, fragmented, miserable stories I have EVER read in the history of comics.
I should say, that I've never, ever cared for the "New Gods" and Darkseid, the villain from another planet whose apparent plan is to send all humans to hell in servitude toward him, and has left the Earth a war-torn wasteland like today's photos of Iraq. He's also corrupted many of the superheroes with second and third stringer heroes to try and combat a world possessed of evil (all 6 billion people are already "gone"). After reading issue #5 (of 7) I'm SO disgusted, so disappointed and just so miserable reading it, that I don't want to finish the story - but I will out of curiousity. Just my opinion, but I think it's a horrible story.

All I Want for Christmas- An Unchipped Tooth

You never plan for it, but teeth present problems whenever they want to. Such was the case last night. When I brushed my teeth before bed last night, part of a tooth chipped off and fell into the sink. Turns out, it was part of a filling. Anyway, that led to a call to the dentist this morning. Fortunately, Dr. Cheryl Hunn of Greenbelt, Md. is excellent, considerate, thoughtful and always ready to help her patients! She worked me in, so I DID get an "unchipped" tooth for Christmas - with a new white filling.

How to Fall Up an Escalator

Here's a video that Tom howled over. I think it's kind of funny, yet, tragic... Maybe this guy had a bowling ball in his briefcase that weighed him down. Anyway, don't try this while Christmas shopping!
VIEW THE VIDEO HERE: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/mall-disasters/how-to-fall-up-an-escalator-316299.php
The Website writer said "You'd think that by now people would know how to handle those tricky new-fandangled moving stairways. That's gotta be embarrassing."

Exoskeleton makes software engineer 'Iron Man' with 20 times greater strength

ANI (News Service)Melbourne, Dec 9 : Software engineer Rex Jameson literally turned into 'Iron Man' when he stepped into a robotic soldier, and his strength got multiplied as many as 20 times.
In fact, by using the outfit's claw-like metal hand extensions, he grips a weight set's bar at a demonstration and knocks off hundreds of repetitions, and once he even managed to press it 500 times. Working for robotics firm Sarcos Inc in Salt Lake City, which is under contract with the US. Army, Jameson is helping assess the 68kg suit's viability for tomorrow's soldiers. The Army believes that someday soldiers will be able to wear the exoskeleton suits, which work by sensing wearer's movement and amplifying it instantly, but now it's focusing on applications such as loading cargo or repairing heavy equipment. However, the major drawbacks of the technology are its cost and short battery life of just 30 minutes.
FULL STORY: http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php?sid=440107

RESEARCH: Dogs Do Have a Sense of Fairness

(CAPTION: Dolly content to gnaw on a big stick!)
Dogs Do Have a Sense of Fairness(as if we dog owners didn't already know it)
FROM CNN: Scientists in England have been studying dogs to determine if they, like chimpanzees, have a sense of fair play, and a wide range of emotions. They do.
Results indicated that dogs appear to experience a range of complex, unpleasant emotions such as jealousy and pride, scientists have discovered.

(CAPTION: Franklin pouting because he can't go outside and chase squirrels)
The research team was led by Paul Morris, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth, England, who studies animal emotions. Scientists noted that dogs hate to see their owners being affectionate to other dogs and can suffer if a new baby or partner arrives on the scene. To test the theory, Friederike Range and colleagues at the University of Vienna in Austria asked 33 trained dogs to extend a paw to a human.
The animals performed the trick virtually all of the time whether they were given a reward or not -- when alone or with another dog. But the dogs' enthusiasm waned when they saw other dogs being rewarded but received nothing themselves. Dogs that were ignored extended their paws much less often, doing so in only 13 out of 30 trials. They also showed more stress, such as licking or scratching themselves. "They are clearly unhappy with the unfair situation", Range told New Scientist magazine. She also suspects that this sensitivity might stretch beyond food to more abstract things like praise and attention. "It might explain why some dogs react with 'new baby envy' when their owners have a child," she said.

Green Lantern Movie in the Works!

After costuming myself as the Green Lantern this Halloween, I just read about a movie being made about the character! Here's the latest from the LA Times: Screenwriter Marc Guggenheim talked to Jennifer Vineland about the Green Lantern screenplay he is working on with Michael Green and the film's director, Greg Berlanti. He explains that the core story is locked in and now they are working on streamlining it with an eye on budget matters (such as limiting the number of locations). He also said that during their fanboy tangents they chew on topics such as cameo appearances for other DC heroes: "And while there's already a lot of speculation over who would play Green Lantern -- Ryan Gosling? Matthew Settle? David Boreanaz? -- what about Clark Kent, who will make a small cameo? Will the part go to someone already established on film or television to be the Man of Steel, like Brandon Routh or Tom Welling? 'There were rumors that Tom Welling would have a cameo in "Batman Begins" as a young Clark Kent, to meet up with a young Bruce Wayne,' Guggenheim noted.

Grammar and Spelling Really are Important...: )

In my job as a Deputy news chief, I'm responsible for making sure press releases and other stories are grammatically correct and words are spelled correctly. I also check format. Today has been a banner day in editing for me -I've been swamped with fixing errors. Then, Tom sent me this email from his office, and the only thing he could say was "Oh dear. Where do you start?"
I read the memo he got today and just had to laugh out loud. I now feel much better about all the edits I've had to do. - Rob

Subject: Cleaning up after yourself's
REMINDER: Here lately, I been noticing that people are still not cleaning up after them self’s and leaving dishes in the sink and the counter dirty . It was also brought to my attention that some of you who worked over the weekend left the kitchen a mess with dirty dishes in the sink and on the counter. This kind of behavior will surely bring some unwanted guess into our facility if we don’t clean behind yourself.
Again, so please be courtesy and take the time to clean-up after yourself.
Thank you.

Well-Deserved Awards: George Jones and Barbara Streisand

Several singers that I enjoy were recognized for their contributions to music this week here in Washington, DC. George Jones, Babs Streisand and 2 members of the group "The Who." Of course, George Jones is the one I like the most (being the country-lover). His song "He Stopped Loving Her Today" has been called the "greatest country song ever written."
FROM USA TODAY: WASHINGTON — The star-studded performances at Sunday night's Kennedy Center Honors gala were a timely warm-up for January's inauguration festivities in the nation's capital.
Six recipients were honored for their distinguished careers and contributions to the arts: singer and actress Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, country singer George Jones, choreographer Twyla Tharp and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who.

George Jones' latest CD: "Burn Your Playhouse Down - The Unreleased Duets"
http://www.georgejones.com/home/ The Duets are pretty interesting.

Christmas Without You

My all -time favorite Christmas album is by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, called "A Christmas to Remember. It holds a special place in my heart, especially now since my dad has passed, and this is my first Christmas without him. I have a special memory of that album with both of my parents, and when I listened to the upbeat song "With Bells On" and "Christmas Without You," both brought tears to my eyes - and made me miss my dad.
Here's the memory: Back in the 1980s when it came out I played it over and over again when I lived at home with mom and dad. One Christmas, after all was done, and both of my brothers left, I stayed home with mom and dad one Christmas night and played the tape (yes, it was a tape). I handed them copies of the lyrics to both songs, and all three of us sang them. Of course, we sounded really bad, and laughed afterward. It was a memory I'll always cherish, though. And now, "Christmas Without You" really does have more of a meaning. I miss you and love you Dad.
To see the Video of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX3c0DumGio/video