Another "Final Crisis" Disappointment

Anyone that doesn't read comic books likely doesn't know that there's a current "revamping" of all the superheroes in the DC Comics' universe. It's called "Final Crisis." It's supposed to be a huge change, and has 4 different storylines (and 4 different related series) going on. One was this 3D Superman Beyond. It's drawn in 3D, and 3D glasses are included. For $4.50 (normal comic is $2.99), the 2 issue series was, like "Final Crisis" the main series, not worth it. Like the main series, it was disjointed and characters were pulled from nowhere without explanation. New characters were supposedly the epitomy of evil, but didn't have origins. I'm sorry I wasted $9.00 on these two issues. I'm so disappointed. (image: DC Comics) Their description below sounds good...but it's not.
FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND 3D
DC Comic's Description: The epic voyage beyond reality concludes in this heart-stopping finale as the multiverse-spanning quest for the elixir of the supergods reaches its end on the shores of a battlefield beyond imagination! But first, the Supermen of five worlds must lay bare the darkest secret of the multiverse, expose the shocking origin of the Monitors and come face to face with a seemingly unstoppable evil fuelled by the power of 52 living universes!

Inauguration Day View from the Ground

Our friend Jeff went to Inauguration Day and stood on the mall for the swearing in and other events. These are two photos that he took- showing us his point of view.
Of course with 1.8 million people on the Washington Mall, he was quite far from the Capitol, where the swearing in happened. He did get some good crowd shots, though!

PetSmart Voluntarily Recalls Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits

Check your cabinets for these dog biscuits from Petsmart (the Petsmart brand is "Grreat Choice") - they're being recalled. Luckily, we don't have any with these UPC codes on them. PetSmart is voluntarily recalling seven of its Grreat Choice® Dog Biscuit products that contain peanut paste made by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is the focus of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into potential salmonella contamination of peanut butter and paste made at its Blakely, Georgia facility.
Although PetSmart is not aware of any reported cases of illness related to these products, it has removed these products from its store shelves and website and is conducting the recall as a precautionary measure.
The recalled products include only the following types of Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits sold between Aug. 21, 2008 and Jan. 19, 2009:
Small Assorted 32 oz., UPC 73725702900
Small/Medium Assorted 4 lb., UPC 73725700601
Small/Medium Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700605
Small/Medium Assorted 10 lb., UPC 73725702755
Large Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700638
Extra Large Assorted 8 lb., UPC 73725700779
Peanut Butter 4 lb., UPC 73725700766

Dog DNA can help tell breed and temperament of your dog!

Our friend Lynn and her family recently adopted a dog from the Howard County Animal Adoption Center, Md. and he was listed as a Boston Terrier mix. She explained that she had the dog's DNA tested to learn more about him (it gives clues on behavior, temperament, etc.). Lynn said, "You first send in a swab taken from your dog's cheek that has cheek cells on it and they run DNA tests to determine breed. If your dog is multiple breeds (aka a mutt) they have obviously different amounts of each breed in them depending on lineage. Just like us. So the DNA test tells you not only the breeds they have in them, but how much of each they possess:
Level 1 is 75% or more of particular breed
Level 2 is 37 to 74%; Level 3 is 20 to 36%; Level 4 is 10 to 19%; Level 5 is less than 10%
Her dog "Eddie" ended up being Level 2 Boston Terrier, Level 3 Chow Chow and Level 5 for Afghan Hound and Bichon Frise (she doesn't see either of those in him at all , but then it could be 1% for each). So he's mostly Boston and either a fifth to a third Chow Chow which could be the reason he doesn't have the bulging eyes of a Boston or the short snout. But the coloring, the ears, the temperament, and size are all Boston, she said.
As for his personality, Lynn said "He is a TOTAL STITCH and he's got a good sense of humor. He is very bouncy and he loves to go through culverts and is not afraid of ANYTHING. He is terrier through and through. He's a brat, but a good hearted one. He is my boy." Congratulations, Lynn and family!

Obama Sworn in as 44th President of U.S.!!

We watched Barack Obama's inauguration on Television at home today, opting not to brave the closed roads into Washington, DC, the overstuffed subways, and the 15 degree wind chills, and we had a great view. I got choked up many times during the swearing in, and Obama's speech. It truly is a new day for the U.S. - one where hope replaces the fears we've been living under for 8 years. This is a day for every American, and I'm really excited. Here are some photos and words from the Washington Post right after the swearing in ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
(Washington Post- photos and text) Barack Obama takes the oath of office, pledges to "begin again the work of remaking America" and recognizes the multiple crises now afflicting the nation. Obama took the stage and was sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. at 12:05 p.m. Holding the Lincoln Bible was Obama's wife, Michelle Obama.

In Address, Obama Calls for 'A New Era of Responsibility' Some 2 Million Visitors Packed the Washington Mall for Today's Celebration! Areas around Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial are near capacity. Aretha Franklin sang "My Country Tis of Thee." There were 20 jumbotron screens throughout the Washington Mall for everyone to see the activities on the Capitol steps.
What's interesting is the amazing contrast today's events were to George W. Bush's re-election inauguration in 2004. There was a fraction of the crowd, lots of protesters, no large screen televisions, a pretty empty Washington Mall, no road closures, very little security, and NO excitement (understandably so). I can only imagine how now former President Bush feels with all of this excitement today. I think it's appropriate, because Barack and GW both got the recognition and the love they deserved. I'm very excited about the next 4 years.

FOUND! Spiderman and Obama: A Tough Comic to Find

UPDATE: Jan. 21, 2009 - Today, my local comic book shop, Alliance Comics of Bowie, Md. had a few issues left of the 2nd printing of this comic book (left for the loyal customers only) so I managed to buy one! Looking forward to reading it!
I couldn't get a copy, and neither could a lot of my friends who are also comic book collectors:
PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. comic book retailers said a Spider-Man comic featuring President-elect Barack Obama on the cover flew from shelves faster than you can sling a web.
Excalibur Books & Comics in Portland, Ore., said copies of "Amazing Spider-Man #583" sold out "before the door opened" Wednesday and hundreds of people lined up outside of Midtown Comics in New York's Manhattan borough in the hopes of snagging a copy, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Thursday. Excalibur ordered 70 copies of the issue for regular subscribers and four additional copies stocked by the store were quickly claimed by callers.
The plot is that Spider-Man's enemy The Chameleon plans to impersonate Obama at his inauguration and take over the country. The super hero and the politician team up to foil the plot. "Honestly," Obama says in the comic after the villain's plot is foiled, "I'm more upset by the Chameleon's shockingly deficient understanding of the electoral process."

Busy Weekend/ Simple Pleasures

(PHOTO: "Jessica Fletcher" in Murder She Wrote -TV series on DVD - one of our favorites)
The weekend has come and gone, and despite the fact that today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and a holiday for me, Tom is working. Tom ALSO had to work all day Saturday, in order to have inauguration day off tomorrow (because the traffic/metro into Washington DC will be of record proportions).
While Tom worked Saturday, I took care of Dolly and Franklin, and did all of the household chores and a couple of quick errands for the house. When Tom returned at 6pm I had just started dinner. We were BOTH tired!
Sunday found us breakfasting at Panera Bread (as usual), and we met friends Steve and Jane for lunch, and Steve's sister was in from New Mexico. That was fun. My younger brother flew in to BWI Airport for the Inauguration (from New England) with a friend, and Tom and I picked them up and drove them to the Metro immediately so they could get to their hotels before the first event started. They've got events all through the next three days! WE are not going to DC for the inauguration, although we'd love to. Too crowded, and way too cold (in the mid-20s all day).
OUR WEEKEND TV VIEWING: DVDs of the Television shows "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" (BBC show); and "Murder She Wrote" with George Clooney as a guest star, and he was only 22 in the episode. Do WE feel old!
Sunday night Tom's parents made us dinner! We love that! A nice way to end a weekend.

OVERSCAM.COM

As anyone that regularly reads this blog already knows, we love our dogs to pieces. They are part of the family and as such they have become somewhat privileged. When Rob & I converted the unused master bedroom upstairs into a multi-purpose/TV/office area, we looked for two matching side chairs for the TV area. As anyone that owns dogs should know, don't buy white chairs. There's a reason for this. Soon after we finished the room and bought the chairs, Rob & I assumed our now usual place on the floor, while each of the "kids" assumed their respective places in the chairs. Well, it didn't take too long for those nice white chairs to start changing color. Fortunately, the slip covers are easily removed and can be washed. Growing tired of doing this about every other week, I decided to start looking for slip covers that were not WHITE. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find slip covers for IKEA furniture. I finally found something that I thought would work on Overstock.com. Within a few days, a heavy box arrived which I hastily took upstairs. I carefully sliced through the packing tape on the box and removed the two new slip covers - walnut colored and each individually wrapped in their plastic wrap. I opened one of the packages and read the instructions. After wrestling with the unruly fabric, slipping in on this way and that, taking it off again and slipping on another way, stopping to re-read the instructions again, it didn't take long to realize that this slip cover was made for one of those over-stuffed chairs on steroids; our chairs look like they've been on a steady diet of bread and water for six months. So, resigned that I was going to have to return the slip covers, I carefully re-packaged the one that I had opened - mind you, it had only been out of the package for 15 minutes. I walked over to the computer and logged onto Overstock.com to find out their return policy. I called the toll free number listed on the website and was immediately sent a return address label by email which I downloaded, printed, and taped to the top of the box. Rob & I drove to the nearest UPS drop off and I began the waiting game to see how much of a refund I would receive. The return policy for Overstock.com says that there would be a modest fee for the cost of return shipping. To make a long story short (because Rob says I'm taking up too much space), Overstock.com kept 55% percent of the original purchase price making up phony charges in addition to the shipping cost like restocking fees AND claiming that the slip cover I had opened and carefully repackaged was FADED. Now, I don't know who actually reads these electronic diaries, but it sure feels good to vent once in awhile. I wish to warn our friendly readers to beware of Overstock.com - because they're a rip-off - and should be dubbed OVERSCAM.com.

Review of "Final Crisis #6"

I just finished reading DC Comics' "FINAL CRISIS" #6 (out of 7), and I'm no more pleased with this issue than I was of the last one. First, the story is miserable. Secondly, it's totally disjointed. We're seeing snapshots of the Japanese child characters that appeared #1, and no one knows who they are and why we should care about them. Third, what they did to Batman (I won't give it away). I'm really fed up with this. It was supposed to be a great series. It's far from it. The only good Final Crisis issues are the "Legion of 3 worlds" series; and the one-shot of the villain's (Libra) origin. I'm very disappointed.

Drinking coffee reduces risk of Alzheimer's

As a result of growing up in New England, specifically Quincy, Mass - I became a coffee fanatic at a young age. That's because Dunkin' Donuts was founded in that city back in 1950 (I'm younger than that)- but the coffee is the BEST in the world. As an adult, I can't do without it. Today, I even drink between 3-8 cups a day (even more sometimes) all day or night. I love it- and studies like this make me feel good about it! -Drink up! Rob
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Middle-aged people who drink moderate amounts of coffee significantly reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a study by Finnish and Swedish researchers showed Thursday.
"Middle-aged people who drank between three and five cups of coffee a day lowered their risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease by between 60 and 65 percent later in life," said lead researcher on the project, Miia Kivipelto, a professor at the University of Kuopio in Finland and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
The study, which was also conducted in cooperation with the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki and which was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease this month, was based on repeated interviews with 1,409 people in Finland over more than two decades. They were first asked about their coffee-drinking habits when they were in their 50s and their memory functions were tested again in 1998, when they were between 65 and 79 years of age. Some studies have also shown that coffee helps protects the nerve system, which can also protect against dementia. FULL STORY:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090115/hl_afp/swedenfinlandhealthcoffeealzheimersresearch

The Inauguration: If You're Daring Enough to Go: Q&A

(PHOTO: Tom and Rob at the Capitol in November)
Tom and I will NOT be going to the Inauguration next Tuesday, even though I'd really like to be there. WHY? Because so many roads into Washington, DC are closed, and there's even a limitation now on the Beltway on the Maryland side of DC. All bridges from Northern VA are closed to civilian traffic, too. For ALL the road, bridge and street closures go to: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=780&sid=1574187. You really MUST take the Metro (if you can get to one, AND find parking). The following metro stops are recommended for general public guests:
-Red Line: Farragut North and Metro Center
-Blue and Orange Lines: Farragut West, Federal Center and Smithsonian
-Yellow and Green lines: L'Enfant Plaza and Archives
On Inauguration Day, for the parade, you WILL be searched. There are a LOT of restrictions about what you can bring (see the links below). No ticket is required (except for the bleachers). Access to the ceremony will begin at 8 a.m. SHARP. No camping out, no waiting earlier. PERIOD.
5 PAGES OF GENERAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERShttp://www.wtop.com/?sid=1566460&nid=25
For the District of Columbia’s 2009 Presidential Inauguration website.
www.inauguration.dc.gov/

With Spirits, There is NO Such Thing as "Coincidence"

One of the things that I've learned about dealing with spirits and earth-bound ghosts is that there is no such thing as coincidence. You may think something happened that coincides with what you're doing or thinking (like a song coming over the radio right after you think about it), but it was suggested. In that case, a spirit can suggest a song to you and then it will come on the radio. Take that as a signal.
One such event happened last night, Jan. 13th, but to explain it I need to go back to the night of January 12th. On the 12th, when we were getting ready to turn in, I asked Tom if he'd like to get confirmation from his late partner Ed, that Ed is still watching out for him. Of course, Tom said "yes." So, I asked Ed aloud (spirits need to hear you communicate, they don't read minds) if he could let us know he's around.
I made the same request of my Dad on Dec. 23rd, and Dec. 24th he came to me and proved it (see old blog about Christmas Eve).
Well, last night, Jan. 13th, without even realizing it, Ed had made himself known. I was writing notes on our "newsletter" that we send out quarterly to friends around the U.S. and came across Ed's father's name. When I went to ask Tom if he wanted to write a note, I unconsciously said aloud, "Do you want to write a note to Ed George?"
Tom looked at me. I stopped and realized that despite Ed's father's name written in front of me, I said "Ed's" name aloud. Now, granted that sounds simple, but Tom said immediately afterward, that's funny that you said Ed's name because I was just downstairs and opened a drawer and there were old photos of Ed that I had forgotten were in there.
So, although it seems like a coincidence, it's not. If you know spirits, its subtle things like that they use to communicate their presence.