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The Five Best Best Pictures (And How They Could Have Been Even Bester!)
2009-01-23 15:23:00
It's a SemiDaily List!The latest Academy Award nominations, as you know, came out yesterday, and people expressed the usual surprise and/or lack of surprise -- depending on how cool the person was trying to be -- at the usual inclusion/exclusion of a movie that everyone thought/didn't think would be on the list of Best Picture nominees.Not me, though. I wasn't surprised/wasn't not surprised at all, since I don't pay much attention to what gets nominated for Best Picture. I never cared much in the first place, and I started drifting further and further from caring as, each year, it became more and more apparent to me that the "Best Pictures " weren't all that great and weren't, in general, picked because they were "The Best."The first hit was from the fact that "Pulp Fiction" wasn't selected as Best Picture. A movie that spawned an entirely new style of movie making and energized movies for years to come wasn't selected as the "Best Picture" in 1994? Is there some criteri...

It'd be like a John Hughes movie, and I might be the cool guy this time!
2009-01-23 15:11:00
I feel like I would be pretty good at school if I were to try it again.Not at the academic part. Not that at all. Helping Middle and The Boy study for exams this week has shown me that -- I barely understand how to read their textbooks, let alone the information contained in those books.No, I mean I would be pretty good at the social part, because the extra 22 years of experience I've gained since high school has left me with the ability to do what it takes to succeed in high school. If I went back, this time, I'd be cool and funny and hip and guys would want to hang around with me and girls would actually go on dates with me...... Oh, who am I kidding? It'd be the same this time around, wouldn't it? Just entering a high school makes me realize that. All I have to do is hear my shoes making that little squeak on the kinds of tiles that only high schools have, and I'm done; I regress back to the same person I was in 1986, only with less hair (which is not all that bad, as ...
More About: Movie , Time , Cool , John , Hughes

The Best Best Way To Listen To Music
2009-01-22 17:35:00
Even as we speak, I am engaging in one of the few hobbies that I still engage in.Or do I have only a few hobbies left? I'm not sure, since I'm not sure what counts as a hobby and since I don't keep track of all my 'hobbies.' I went running at the club last night -- well, jogging, on the treadmill -- but that doesn't count as a hobby because I don't like to do it, and a hobby is supposed to be something I like, isn't it? The only thing I like about running is when it's done. Specifically, I like to raise my hands in victory as I complete my goal, which may look silly if I'm running on a treadmill, but when else am I going to get to raise my hands in victory as I complete something?Actually, I do that quite a bit. Among the many things I try to factor into my life are the rules 1. Treat life like a vacation: take lots of pictures and enjoy a snack now and then, and 2. Raise your arms in victory when you reach a goal. It works, too: As un-enjoyable as it may ordinar...
More About: Music , Listen

The Best Phrase That I Would Like To See Make The Jump Into Pop Culture Bec
2009-01-19 23:38:00
Remember "Limecat?"I sure do, but I don't know how I know about Limecat, and how I heard about Limecat. I just did. And I first heard about Limecat a long time ago in the olden days (2002) when people didn't hear about things as quickly as they do now, when texting and Digg and even the Internet were not as big a deal as they are now.Don't believe me that things weren't that big a deal back then and that as recently as 2002 it was much, much harder to spread the word about back then? It was, and I can prove it: Youtube wasn't founded until 2005; before 2005, you couldn't find videos instantly on the Internet. Myspace wasn't founded until 2003. Facebook began in 2005. Even text messaging wasn't so big then. Text messaging grew exponentially after 2002. In 2001, 250 billion texts were sent. That sounds like a lot -- but by 2004, that number was 500 billion. It doubled in two years, which doesn't sound so big, either, so instead, picture it this way: Imagine 250 mi...
More About: Culture , Pop Culture , Make , Jump

This had all the makings of a very good, very literate piece of work... and
2009-01-19 23:21:00
Learn more about Anchor Laura Diaz HereMeet Anchor Laura Diaz of the CBS 2 KCAL 9 News team. CBS Anchor Laura Diaz is a So-Cal native and first generation Mexican-American.Why should you care who she is? I'll tell you: Anchor Laura Diaz made history by becoming, in 1997, the first female Hispanic weekday news anchor on a Los Angeles-area English language broadcast -- a lengthy way to describe the fact that she broke ground and did it in a big way. Since then, she's gone on to bigger and better and greater things, joining KCBS-TV in 2002 as the 5 and 11 co-anchor, and has served as the host of "Vista L.A.", a public affair program in Southern California.CBS Anchor Laura Diaz has done all that as the daughter of farm laborers, getting a college degree after growing up in that humble background, and has used her dedication and skill to cover major stories including covering the 1992 Losa Angels Riots and 1994 Northridge earthquake. The shows she's been on have earned awards whil...
More About: Work , Good , Piece

Welcome a New TBOE Reader!
2009-01-19 16:48:00
There'll be another Best coming tomorrow, but until then, say hello to "Ithanium," my newest fan on Digg. You can find out more about Ithanium by checking out the Digg profile -- although there's precious little information there. Ithanium may like his/her secrecy... but he/she also likes what he/she likes, and he/she likes TBOE and my stuff enough to be a fan on Digg.Thanks for reading, Ithanium. The rest of you -- if you want to be mentioned here, drop me a line.
More About: Reader

You could still throw in a stuffed animal if you want.
2009-01-19 16:40:00
If you know someone who's having a baby this year, what are you going to give them as a baby shower present or gift for their newborn? A blanket? Some sleepers? A gift certificate for a diaper service?Or would you maybe like to give them, instead, a chance at not dying of some horrible disease? You could do that if you Give the Gift of Cryo-Cell to the parents of that newborn.Cryo-Cell is a company that helps parents do something they may otherwise overlook: take steps to help their babies with a cure for terrible diseases down the line. Cryo-Cell lets parents of newborns store cord blood, something that must be done immediately after delivery. Storing cord blood from a newborn preserves the stem cells, cells that can be of use in treating 70 different diseases -- leukemia, diabetes, cerebral palsy, and a lot more. And that's only the beginning -- research is unlocking the potential of stem cells more and more each day.Cryo-Cell has already done this for more than 160,000 ...
More About: Animal , Throw

The Four Best Beloved Children's Characters Who Are Not Quite What They See
2009-01-15 16:03:00
It's a SemiDaily List! Parents, other than me, like to think that they are strictly controlling what their children watch, or that someone, at least, is strictly controlling what their kids watch. That is, either parents place limits on what kids, especially little kids, can watch on TV and in the movies, or they petition the government and TV stations to place limits on that so that they can be lazy and not parent themselves. Either way, though, most parents generally make at least a half-hearted attempt to make sure their kids aren't being exposed to harmful influences. But is it enough to simply say "Make sure there's no naked breasts and that the characters don't say anything more harsh than "Dang it."? I think not. I think not because first, who says "Dang It" anymore? That's what I wondered when The Boy last night got a little frustrated with the flipbook of Newton's Laws of Motion he was making... ... and the fact that a junior in high school is learning Newton...
More About: Characters , Beloved

The Best Way To Tell If Something Is Truly Great.
2009-01-08 19:24:00
Is The Dark Knight the greatest superhero movie ever made?Is Tiger Woods the greatest golfer ever?Is Revolutionary Road the greatest book written in the 60s?The answers to those questions are not subjective. Not anymore. I have hit on a way to answer questions like that, to answer any questions about whether someone is great and whether they are the greatest and to do so in a totally objective manner.And using that method, the answers are:No.Yes.AndNot by a long shot.This is a debate that started when Some Guy At Work mentioned to me that Kurt Vonnegut, maybe, or some other writer who wrote in the 60s had said that Revolutionary Road was the greatest book of the 1960s. That surprised me because I had never heard of Revolutionary Road-the-book; I had only just heard of Revolutionary Road-the-movie-people-will-talk-about-but -not-see, and didn't know much about it otherwise.So I told Some Guy At Work that it was impossible for Revolutionary Road to have been the greatest book of th...
More About: Great

You can get an Orange Thumb, if you act quickly.
2009-01-08 16:55:00
There's a spot at the end of our street where our road and the road behind us come together, creating a triangular area that nobody seems to own and nobody seems to take care of. I walk by it all the time and think that should be cleaned up and made into something, but who wants to take the time and energy and money to do that?Maybe I do, though, because maybe I can get a Project Orange Thumb grant to transform that triangular peninsula of overgrowth into a community garden that will improve everyone's lives.Project Orange Thumb is a grant program sponsored by Fiskars. Any group who wants to promote and produce neighborhood beautification, or horticultural education or even sustainable green agriculture, can apply for a grant of up to $1,000 in good and an additional $1,500 in tools. It's been around for six years now and the grants are open, more or less, to anyone who wants start or maintain a community garden.Which I could do with that triangle of land. So far, Fiskars Pro...

The Best Foods That Have Only A Tenuous Connection To The Natural World:
2009-01-06 18:31:00
It's a date that's divisible by three -- so it's another SemiDaily List!I've mentioned before that a key criterion of mine in determining whether or not I will eat something is how far away that thing appears to be from anything "natural." And I'm only half-finished with Christmas-Leftover Grandma's Mystery Candy, so my mind is doubly-occupied with not just my usual thoughts (find a way to avoid doing actual 'work') but also with other foods that aren't natural in any way, shape, or form. So here areThe Best Foods That Have Only A Tenuous Connection To The Natural World :1. "Shamrock" Shakes. Every year, McDonald's rolls out the "Shamrock" Shake, a mint-flavored dessert beverage that seems to have been created during the brief period of time when McDonald's was trying to institute a "seasonal menu" program, a program that apparently was killed off shortly after the introduction of this shake and the "Egg Nog" and "Arctic Orange" shakes -- those being the only three seas...
More About: Natural World

I'll see you in the Magz Arena.
2009-01-06 17:39:00
An XKCD comic I read once said that no matter how complicated video games get, they'll never be able to compete with the simple pleasure of flash games, and that's a point I keep making to The Boy -- simple video games are addictively fun; they seem so easy to master and yet you never ever ever quite do that.I think I finally proved my point to The Boy with Mega's MagNext , a virtual community/video game that has all the simple, addictive pleasures of a great video game -- games that can be enjoyed by little kids or adults.Sign-up is easy, and once in, there are games to play and "Magz" to collect by playing -- the "Magz" can be traded to upgrade your avatar so that you get more out of the game than before. It's supposed to, I guess, be aimed at littler kids, but I checked it out and got all caught up in playing a game against a challenger called "Lethal," and even found myself some extra charge up packs -- and while I lost, I think I did good enough to claim that I'm going to ...
More About: Arena

The SemiDaily List: The Best Poems That Should Be Made Into TV Serieses.
2008-12-30 21:58:00
Why a list? Read here -- and that's where you'll see what other lists I've created. Look for new lists on days which are divisible by 3!Before I begin, what, exactly, is the plural of "series?" Sometimes, English is just dumb. How can I tell people, for example, that I like more than one television series without sounding stupid? I mean, other than saying "I like more than one television series." I should be able to say These are great television series-es without people thinking I'm stuttering. So that's what I'm going to do, and the plural for series is now serieses.Also, I guess, in retrospect, it was dumb to type "Before I begin" at the start of this, because I was actually beginning right then and there. I should have said "To begin with" or something like that. Or I could have just begun. Here's another thing that bugs me: When people say "I would think" instead of "I think." Like this: "I would think that you would just go ahead and start on your list, inste...
More About: Poems , List , Made

Space Invaders? Also cool.
2008-12-30 21:41:00
Yes. Yes, they do. It's not often one finds a kindred spirit -- especially a kindred spirit that sells t-shirts, like the kindred spirits I've found over at Crazy Dog t-shirts, the makers of that shirt and a whole lot more.Why do I say they have so much in common with me? Well, as shown on the shirt, this site and that one have a shared love of asteroids -- as well as a healthy distrust of squirrels, based on some of their other t-shirts, t-shirts I've been browsing around today instead of doing any actual work-- browsing I was doing because I think my t-shirt collection needs some upgrading.I mean, YES, I have my Green Lantern t-shirt, and yes I have my so-lame-its-cool library t-shirt, but beyond that and my "A Christmas Story" t-shirt, my t-shirt selection has nothing much to offer me anymore. So Crazy Dog can help me upgrade, because they've got that Asteroids t-shirt, and an awesome Jaws t-shirt, and a lot more. I'm just going to go ahead and add all of them to my birth...
More About: Space , Cool , Space Invaders

Welcome another TBOE reader!
2008-12-30 21:31:00
I am both prone to taking credit where credit may not be due, and also heavily in favor of people making a buck, which is why I am pleased to announce (and claim I inspired) that "A 33 year-old damsel from Montana" is my latest fan.The "damsel" is the operator of www. CerealMarshmallows.com -- a website that is devoted to selling just the cereal marshmallows.Which, you'll recall, I first proposed way back when. So the "damsel" is obviously also a genius, because she recognized a good thing when I proposed it and also because she reads The Best of Everything.So welcome, Ms. Marshmallow, to the hallowed grounds of TBOE readerdom, and make sure I get a discount, because I'm going to blow my entire allowance on your website this week.Do you read The Best of Everything and want some recognition? Let me know! Linkers, readers, submitters -- you'll all get featured here. You can even email me at "thetroublewithroy[at]yahoo.com". Put that you're looking for some recognition in the ...
More About: Reader

Linus was way cool.
2008-12-30 21:23:00
Because Mr Bunches broke my reading glasses a while back -- tearing them off my face and breaking them in half -- it's time that I pick up a new pair of spectacles to help stave off impending old age, and I've decided to do it right: no more $5 reading glasses from the corner drugstore.Instead, I'm going to get a pair of Holiday frames from Zenni Optical. Zenni Optical is that online seller of prescription eyeglass frames for as low as $8 -- stylish, cool, neat frames that they can sell for that low of a price because they make them all themselves, so there's no middleman driving up the prices. And they have a huge selection of frames, too -- just in the holiday section alone the options go on for pages, making it difficult to make up my mind.But I did. I did make up my mind, and I picked these out:I know, I know: Harry Potter frames are so five minutes ago. But I like them, and beside, I like to think of them not as "Harry Potter" frames, but as "Linus " frames-- because my...
More About: Cool

The SemiDaily TBOE List! The Best Actresses People Don't Think Are Good Loo
2008-12-29 15:32:00
TV and movies are filled with actresses that everyone thinks are pretty. Then there are those actresses that everyone says things like "Oh, she's so talented," but they're not, for some reason, considered pretty. Except, apparently, by me.Am I out-of-step with humanity? You bet. But is that MY problem, or humanity's problem? I'm no Yossarian: I'm not going to conform just because everyone else feels one way, even if I'm a damn fool to feel any other way. Instead, I'll just do what Antonin Scalia told me, once: "Don't be afraid to be a lone voice crying out in the wilderness," he said to me. He really did. He probably didn't have this in mind, but I will still apply his advice and be a lone voice crying out in the wilderness, saying "Hey, humanity, these actresses are not only good actresses, but also you should consider them good-looking." So, henceforth, these actresses will be noted for their acting ability AND be considered pretty. Because they are. Without ...
More About: People , List , Good , Actresses

The SemiDaily TBOE List!
2008-12-29 15:19:00
People like lists. Or so it seems. Because people ask me all the time "Why don't you do lists?" Really, they do. They stop me on the street, and uniformly when they do, I am asked two questions:1. How can you possibly be so handsome? and2. Why don't you do lists on your website?**(note: at least one of these questions has never been asked of me.)So I've decided to do lists, along with the usual essays on Pop Culture. After all, TBOE began with one idea, then slowlly shifted into what it is now... which is sort of essays about pop culture mixed in with things I think are the Best and occasional reader additions... so it can change a little more, right?If anything, it will reduce the number of questions I am asked on the street by 50%.This page will from here on out serve not just as an explanation, but also as the roster of all The SemiDaily TBOE List s: The Four Best Actresses People Don't Think Are Good-Looking But Who Really Are.

Tomorrow: Something that's NOT a song. Hopefully. If I have time. I hav
2008-12-01 19:41:00
Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings, and Happy Holidays fromThe Best Of Everything! From now until December 24, TBOE will be bringing you nothing but seasonal Bests! The Newest Post: Today's song is an Indie Rocker Christmas song; see how it fits into both the traditional Christmas we never have and the actual Christmas we never want, by listening to The Best Indie Rocker Christmas Song That Is Not An Old Standard, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' "Jingle Bell Rock" or "Run Run Rudolph,"Prior Songs:The Best Jazzy Swingin' Hepcat Christmas Song That Is Not An Old Standard, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' "Jingle Bell Rock" or "Run Run Rudolph."Oldie But A Goodie: It's The Best Christmas Song -- numero uno over all!And The Grinch Shows Up In This One, Making It Technically A Christmas Post: The Best Showdowns Between Good & Evil!
More About: Time , Tomorrow

If you make a typo while dictating, what is it called?
2008-12-01 19:34:00
If you, like me, are not the greatest typist but you like (or love) to blog and write, you will want to know about Dragon NaturallySpeaking, a program that transcribes what you say into words on your blog. I've seen other speech recognition programs, but nothing that works this great and nothing that makes it this easy to write just by talking -- letting me use my only natural skill (talking a lot) and turn it into entertainment and even money.I've found a video and an article that do a better job of describing and showing how this works, and how you can make more money using this if that's your thing (and it's MY thing, for sure), so let me let you get on to those, and I'll bow out by mentioning that through this offer you can get 25% off Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred, and that would make a great present not just for you, but for ME, so if you're inclined, you can Get Dragon Naturally Speaking using Discount code DNSMBG. Now, here's your video. You can find the ful...
More About: Make , Typo

The Best Indie Rocker Christmas Song That Is Not An Old Standard, "Rockin'
2008-12-01 19:04:00
So far today, the tally of Run Run Rudolphs and other overplayed/underliked Christmas songs is pretty low, but that's because I've only been listening to Christmas music for about 30 minutes now. During that time, I've heard one Run, Run Rudolph and one Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, plus a Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.Why the reliance on standards and the three main Christmas rock songs, I keep wondering, when other songs do just as good at exemplifying how we'd like our holidays to go, and how they actually go. Other songs like today's song, The Best Indie Rocker Christmas Song That Is Not An Old Standard , "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' "Jingle Bell Rock" or "Run Run Rudolph," which, despite being an indie rocker song, manages to capture both the Christmas-we-want and the Christmas-We-Get:It's "Everything Is Gonna Be Cool This Christmas" by Eels:How This Song Demonstrates A Classical Christmas (as shown in "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" & "A Christmas...

This really isn't that much to ask for.
2008-11-30 19:05:00
"I have been deployed twice this year, for over six months. I've missed some of my son's biggest accomplishments. Since I've been gone he's started talking (my wife says he could talk the paint off of a wall), he has starting walking by himself and running around. My wife and I have always talked about getting a video camera but haven't been able to afford one. My wife is a stay at home mom and we are both attending college. We would love to have a video camera so we can record my son's milestones so I can see them while I'm deployed."That was written by a serviceman from South Carolina. I read that and almost started crying; I honestly got choked up, because I miss my kids when I'm just at the office -- and I'll see them that night. I can't imagine not seeing them for months at a time and I certainly can't imagine being half a world away getting shot at while wondering what it looked like when my son started walking.I read that on the Sears Heroes at Home Wish Regist...

The Best Jazzy Swingin' Hepcat Christmas Song That Is Not An Old Standard,
2008-11-30 18:25:00
Everyone in every city in every country on Earth by now has a radio station that plays nothing but Christmas music, usually beginning around October 23rd. With 24 hours a day to fill for a minimum of about 30 days, and each song lasting 3 minutes or so, those radio stations could play 14,400 different Christmas songs during that time.And yet, when I turn on that radio station in my city to get a little holiday cheer, I inevitably hear version after version, ad infinitum ad nauseum, of three songs: Run Run Rudolph, done by the pseudorockers like Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen, or Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree done by aging singers who are not rockers, regardless of their proximity to a Christmas Tree, and/or Jingle Bell Rock, done by, well, everyone else.Then, those same radio stations fill out the schedule with the aural equivalent of peanuts in the Chex Mix -- a lot of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and O Holy Night and Deck The Halls by the Percy Faith Orchestra.Well, I...
More About: Song , Standard , Jazzy , Christmas Song

25,000 under 25... it sounds like hard math, but it's not.
2008-11-30 04:38:00
I'm always so stumped over presents to give to some family members. Dad? My brother-in-law in West Virginia? What about my nephews? It's hard to know what they might want, and harder to find something they might like that's affordable.This year, though, Kmart really came to my rescue. They've got 25,000 different things in their store that cost less than $25 -- so if you had to buy 25,000 people presents, you could get each of them a different thing from Kmart, and each thing would cost $25 or less.That, together with their Kmart.com website, solved my Christmas dilemma, because they've got games galore, and who doesn't love a game? I headed on over to the website, andClick! An Uno game for my brother-in-law.Then Click! Connect Four for the nephew. And...Click! An oak Chess and checkers set for Dad -- he's old school. $9.99 for that -- way under $25.I could've kept clicking 24,997 more times and each one would be less than $25 -- so it's possible to click away and aw...
More About: Sounds , Hard , Math

Coming Soon: The Best ______ Christmas Song That Is Not An Old Standard, "R
2008-11-30 04:33:00
Christmas time is upon us again, and while last year I named The Best Christmas Song , this year I am going to go that one, or three, or 10, or more, better -- however many I get through.Because I'm tired of turning on the radio and hearing either some old standard Christmas song, or yet another version of "Run Run Rudolph," "Jingle Bell Rock," and "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree."So join me in December as I cover, in between other Seasonal offerings, The Best [fill in the blank with a descriptive term] Christmas Song That Is Not An Old Standard , "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree', "Jingle Bell Rock," or "Run Run Rudolph"Starts Monday!
More About: Christmas

Save some Chex Mix for me!
2008-11-28 13:50:00
I'm going to make your black friday easier and better for eveeryone involved. Don't go spend your day standing in line at department stores buying sweaters, missing out on valuable time eating leftover Chex Mix and re-viewing "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Instead, just get up, eat a leisurely-leftover-Chex-Mix-based breakfast, and then click on over to Charter.com and get the Ultimate Bundle for your family or friends or boss or anyone on your gift list.The Charter Ultimate Bundle gets you high-speed Interenet, Digital Home, and Charter Telephone all in one low-price, high-appeal package. You can buy those separately, too, but you save more the more you buy. Get one Charter Service for $25. Two will cost you only $75. All three, though, are only $150 together, so that's your great deal.But wait: There's more. (I've always wanted to say that.) The whole Ultimate Service Bundle is $165.97 and you get 10 Mbps High Speed Internet, Charter HD Cable, Sports View, Di...
More About: Save

Ghosts!
2008-11-28 13:46:00
Ghosts!There are ghosts!In Father Albert's church!First one. Then a few more. Then a few more. Now, there are thirty and they're asking him for help, but he doesn't know what it is they want or how he should help them.He does know that when he looks in their eyes, he sees the fires of Hell... waiting for him? Or for them?Read Ghosts! There Are Ghosts!, the newest story on AfterDark: The Scariest Things, You Can't Imagine. New installment posted every Sunday!
More About: Ghosts

And then Santa rides in on a sleigh pulled by 8 tiny triceratopses.
2008-11-25 17:20:00
Christmas is for the kids, and toys are for the kids. So it follows that Christmas= Toys, and to that rule, I add two others:1. The louder the toy, the better the toy, and2. So long as I am giving the toy to someone else.That's why this year, I can plan on giving the Smart Builders Piano from Mega, to my nephew Baby Charlie; it makes noise and because of that is the perfect toy under Rule 1, and the perfect toy to give to my nephew because of Rule 2.Mega's got lots of toys available for kids, from musical and loud like the piano to quiet and cute like a disney figurine for that kid that loves Disney. You can search by age, price, or category, and once you find something you like -- like the piano, or the figurines, or even the awesome Struxx Robotrix that will let you build a robotic futuristic Tyrannosaurus Rex -- king of the thunder lizards indeed -- you can get more information on it, including where you can buy the toy and how much it'll set you back.Although, when it co...
More About: Santa , Tiny

Mateo Shaw Is Going To Be Okay.
2008-11-25 17:12:00
"Please remember in your lives to never take the ones you love for granted. Live life to the fullest and thank God for the ones you love."Those are the words of Angie Shaw , mother to Mateo and McHale Shaw, words to keep in mind this week as we head into Thanksgiving.Angie was writing because her son, Mateo, pulled through his latest surgery and was back on the road to recovery; after being rushed to the hospital last week vomiting and with a falling heart rate, Mateo Shaw is, in Angie's words, "A tough little man," who just days after that was able to stay up until 1 a.m. to spend time with his mom and dad and brother, McHale.So I wanted to thank all of you who prayed for and helped out Mateo, and urge you to do what Angie Shaw says, this week and every week: Thank God for the ones you love. Mateo and McHale Shaw were born conjoined twins; through more surgeries than I can count, they have beaten the odds and are going strong today, but they've maxed out their insurance for thei...

Just don't change Shatner!
2008-11-24 18:12:00
Are all changes good things? That was one of the questions asked a lot this past election season, when "change" was the touchstone of both major presidential campaigns -- change was going to come, from one or the other, and that change might be good or bad, depending on who you listened to and what you thought about that person.Now, it seems, that change will come -- or one of the changes -- and we don't know exactly what to expect from it. Maybe more of the same, maybe more of something else that was previously the same, maybe something completely different that turns out to be something that's completely the same? Those are the questions asked, too, by the movie Change s are Coming, which posits a bigger change than anyone in the past election could have imagined. In "Changes Are Coming," America changes all the way back to the days of Ancient Rome -- as filtered through the circus of modern America, a change that has such profound implications for humanity (or at least Americ...