Our Little Corner of the World

Conversation Piece

I am trying to salvage some sanity for my ongoing graduate classes. Until I can effectively post again, please enjoy the random products.

Bimboveloce Cake Stand by Alessi

Coat Hook?

Now, I know what to buy if I ever have an outdoor party in the summer.

Coat and Accessory Rack by Ryan Frank

Five reasons computers must be female...

5. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.

4. Even your smallest mistakes are immediately committed to memory for future reference.

3. The native language used to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.

2. The message, "Bad command or file name," is about as informative as "If you don't know why I'm mad at you, then I'm certainly not going to tell you."

1. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

Constantly sitting in front of a computer is warping my brain, so I thought I would share this list I found on the web.

Green Card

This is the latest business card that can be converted into a living plant. I wonder what the portfolio looks like? A tree?

How Cold Is It?

I'm busy with class tonight, so enjoy this an annotated thermometer

At...
50 - Miami residents turn on the heat

40 - College Students still wear shorts; Californians shiver uncontrollably; Wisconsinites go swimming

35 - Italian cars don't start

32 - Water freezes

30 - You can see your breath; You plan your vacation to Australia; Wisconsinites put on T-shirts; Politicians begin to worry about the homeless

25 - Boston water freezes; Californians weep pitiably; Wisconsinites eat ice cream; Canadians go swimming

20 - You can hear your breath; Politicians begin to talk about the homeless; New York City water freezes; Miami residents plan vacation further South

15 - You plan a vacation in Mexico

10 - Too cold to snow; You need jumper cables to get the car going

5 - You plan your vacation in Houston

0 - American cars don't start; Alaskans put on T-shirts "Too cold to skate"

-5 - You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo; Wisconsinites' stick tongue on metal objects; Miami residents cease to exist

-10 - Politicians actually do something about the homeless; Wisconsinites shovel snow off roof

-15 - Too cold to think; You need jumper cables to get the driver going; Only ice chunks hit the bottom of the outhouse

-20 - You plan a two week hot bath; The Mighty Monongahela freezes; Japanese cars don't start

-25 - Californians disappear; Wisconsinites button top button; Canadians put on sweaters; Your car helps you plan your trip South

-30 - Congressional hot air freezes

-50 - Hell freezes over; Polar bears move south

-65 -All major universities are still open and requiring students to attend class! Remember the good old elementary school days???

Interesting Facts

1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

2. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt"

3. Almonds are members of the peach family.

4. The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.

5. The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.

6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.

7. The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.

8. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."

9. There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

10. The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

11. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl.

12. The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.

13. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, L.A.

14. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.

15. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

16. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

17. Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.

18. The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.

19. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

20. There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.

21. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

22. Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

23. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

24. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

25. Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.

26. The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti

27. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.

28. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

29. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

30. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."

31. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

32. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten. (Another reason to hate cats!)

33. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

34. The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

X Marks the Spot

X-Shaped Rubber Bands

urbanpeel.com

Coming Soon to My Feet

Crocs Website

I See Skies of Blue...

I survived the GMAT! I went to maximum security prison, aka Pearson Professional Center, in Nashville on Saturday. I was there for four hours. I was electronically finger printed, photographed, and registered. All of this for a $250 exam that if I pass will allow me to pay another $20K to MTSU for MBA that hopefully will increase my wisdom and salary. It was brutal, but I survived. Now for Quantitative Stats 6000 Yippee!

You Got To Pray...

I'm taking the GMAT today. Please send a prayer up for me. I will be testing from 12:30pm - 4:30pm in Nashville.

Evening Post

We went to see Evening the other evening (hee hee). Yes, Kris went to see it without any struggle. However, I was not pleased with the plot. When you are able to bring so many talented actresses together onscreen, the first thing you need is to have a well thought out script. There were too many questions that should have been answered or angles covered, but instead this blah-remembrance film was a generalization with no true meaning or point. I hate to be harsh with such a great cast and so much potential. The movie did have a great set-up, but no pay off. I have listed below the only five reasons why you would want to see Evening.

You get to see...

1. Claire Danes through out the entire film. She carries the entire movie. (I heart Angela and Jordan!)

2. Claire's current co-star turned boyfriend (Hugh Dancy) and giggle that he comes off very feminine onscreen.

3. real life mother-daughter duos onscreen. (Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson; Meryl Streep and Mamie Gunner)

4. Claire Danes singing "Time after Time" (not the Cyndi Lauper song)

5. a stylized portrayal of the 1950's, with all of the cars, dresses, and music.

One Nation Under God

I have felt patriotic at different points in my life. I remember one of those times was a trip home to Jackson from Murfreesboro right after September 11th. I remember seeing so many flags on people's cars and trucks and everyone being nice to everyone on the road. However, the memory that has stayed with me all this time is of an older man standing on one of the bridges on I-40. He had draped massive flags on both sides of the bridge and was waving a sign to everyone that read “God Bless America!” I remember everyone slowing down on the interstate and honking and waving at him. He must have been out there all day.

I felt so invigorated to be an American and a Christian. I was feeling patriotic and started to read through the lines of our flag. Like most I recited the Pledge of Allegiance everyday at school as I was growing up, but I never understood the meaning of the words that I was saying. Do you remember the words to the Pledge?

I, Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

One Nation under God – What a wonderful world we would live in if we truly lived in one nation under God? During this time, I also remember listening to the words of "God Bless America" and feeling so patriotic. I take it for granted that I live in United States and that I have many freedoms that others do not. So today, I am going to thank God for my freedom and for all those who have suffered to give me my liberties. I will also pray for those who are persecuted and who do not have the basic freedoms that we have in America.

p.s. Kris and I have a favorite film scene that involves fireworks. The finale of Meet Joe Black has one the greatest displays of fireworks. My personal favorite is the gold dust fireworks. So enjoy the fireworks and some Brad Pitt.

"Once" in a while...

Kris went and saw the movie "Once" while I was at work today. He wanted me to give it a post and tell everyone to go see this "brilliant movie." He says that it is definitely worth seeing, but if you can't see it make sure to download the soundtrack. I included a review from Rolling Stone for those skeptics.

"Summer brings out the Bigfoot in Hollywood with blockbusters at the ready to stomp out any movie that values simplicity and sincere emotion. Well, don't let summer squash Once, the Irish musical from writer-director John Carney that struck a lyrical chord at Sundance earlier this year. Cut through the Spidey-Shrek hype and seek it out. You won't be sorry. It's a magical, beguiling wonder. When I say Irish musical, think U2, not Riverdance, and get set for a gift of a movie that is absolutely worth seeing more than once. The Frames frontman Glen Hansard stars as a Dublin songwriter who takes his guitar to the streets and sings himself hoarse to deaf ears. That is, until he meets a pretty Czech pianist (Marketa Irglova) who gives him the guts to quit his dad's repair shop and start finding the bucks to make a recording. That's it, a bittersweet love story with ravishing Hansard music ("Falling Slowly" is a killer) and the ache of romance in its soul. Nothing about this mood piece should work -- the budget is shoestring and the actors are inexperienced. But Once brims with small pleasures that pay major dividends. Carney, who played bass for the Frames till 1993, is a filmmaker to watch. Blending the hip and the heartfelt, the tough and the tender, he creates a movie you want to hold close." RollingStone.com

Splish, Splash Reunion

I have been so busy with studying for the GMAT (which I take this Saturday), taking a Grad class (preparing for another class next week), finishing my 3 month training at my job, and life's other fun occurrences that I haven't posted pictures from our trip to Jackson. I reunited with college roommate Mary and college friends Beth and Kristin. We all met at Beth’s house in Milan and over a buffet of goodies swapped college stories, baby stories, and work stories. I'm trying to remember to spend time with friends in the midst of my ever-changing hectic life. New additions to the college group, Emerson and Phillip. Mary Page Crutcher and Beth Slay Buckner both have beautiful children that entertained us for hours.

I took pictures of “supermodel in the making” Emerson or known to her close friends as “Emmy.” She wouldn’t stop posing for the camera.

Phillip was all smiles and gleefully played in his pool while we were talking. I can already tell he is going to break many hearts with his devilish good looks and charm. The afternoon/night was a fantastic way to start the summer festivities.