Oh the Glory of It All

Posted on 31. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in books

I’m currently reading by Sean Wilsey. It chronicles his life as a child to bigger-than-life, incredibly wealthy, and wildly dysfunctional San Francisco socialites. He’s a very engaging writer, and has a great memory and astute eye for what transpired. It’s a very readable book, but I’m not sure I’ll finish, however…it’s due back at the library in a few days, and I’m not sure how much of this depressing life I can stomach.

Ha Jin’s is also due back at the library this week, and I haven’t started it yet. However, that sounds pretty depressing too. Sigh. It’s summer, and I think I’d rather read something more uplifting.

Little Manhattan: Great movie, fantastic soundtrack

Posted on 30. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in movies, music

Just saw a really cute movie on movies-on-demand: Little Manhattan. It’s the story of a 10-year-old boy who develops a crush on a girl in his karate class. It’s narrated by the boy, and he’s very forthright about his feelings for the girl. Very innocent and touching. (well, ok, not much touching!)

Lucky my son’s off at church camp now. This movie would probably have completely embarassed him. But, my daughter was here to see it, and it probably only confirmed for her that Manhattan would be a great place to live. Yikes! I’m trying to keep her in CA when she grows up!

This movie had a great soundtrack. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a list of the songs online. So, I had my daughter go back to the movie and we wrote them down. Here they are:

Available on iTunes:

• Only the Strong Survive – performed by Elvis Presley
• Kung Fu Fighting – performed by Carl Douglas
• Younger Yesterday – performed by The Meadows
• New Fast – performed by Aden
• Lonely Road – performed by Everlast
• The Very Thought of You – performed by Nat King Cole
• At Last – performed by Etta James

Song available on iTunes, but not by listed performer:

• When the Saints Go Marching In – performed by The All Star Marching Band
• Miserable Life – performed by Chad Fischer & Lyle Workman
• Burning Flame – performed by Richard Friedman
• Map of My Heart – performed by Chad Fischer
• Polly Wolly Doodle – performed by Susannah Blinkoff
• Teach Me Tonight – performed by Loston Harris
• Love Grows – performed by Freedy Johnston
• In My Life – performed by Matt Scannell

Songs not on iTunes:

• Birdland – performed by Ron Aspery
• Sleepless in Brooklyn – performed by Chad Fischer, Tim Bright, Chris Link
• Love – performed by Matt White (it looks like this will be on his album coming out in early 2007) It is a web video on iTunes. Too bad it’s not just available as a song!

POSTSCRIPT:

Many thanks to all of you who have appreciated this posting. Many have commented, expressing their thanks. However, I’m not comfortable with this blog becoming a forum for people who want to email music to each other without the artists getting royalties, so I’m sorry but I’m going to delete the posts where people just want to get music for free that they could otherwise purchase. Thank you for understanding.

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Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock

Posted on 30. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, politics, religion

Are all Christians Republicans? Definitely not! But you wouldn’t know that from what some evangelical pastors preach and from what the media often portrays. Therefore it was heartening to read today’s NY Times story, “Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock.”

Like most pastors who lead thriving evangelical megachurches, the Rev. Gregory A. Boyd was asked frequently to give his blessing — and the church’s — to conservative political candidates and causes.

The requests came from church members and visitors alike: Would he please announce a rally against gay marriage during services? Would he introduce a politician from the pulpit? Could members set up a table in the lobby promoting their anti-abortion work? Would the church distribute “voters’ guides” that all but endorsed Republican candidates? And with the country at war, please couldn’t the church hang an American flag in the sanctuary?

After refusing each time, Mr. Boyd finally became fed up, he said. Before the last presidential election, he preached six sermons called “The Cross and the Sword” in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a “Christian nation” and stop glorifying American military campaigns.

“When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses,” Mr. Boyd preached. “When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross.”

Mr. Boyd says he is no liberal. He is opposed to abortion and thinks homosexuality is not God’s ideal. The response from his congregation at Woodland Hills Church here in suburban St. Paul — packed mostly with politically and theologically conservative, middle-class evangelicals — was passionate. Some members walked out of a sermon and never returned. By the time the dust had settled, Woodland Hills, which Mr. Boyd founded in 1992, had lost about 1,000 of its 5,000 members.

Also…

In his six sermons, Mr. Boyd laid out a broad argument that the role of Christians was not to seek “power over” others — by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should instead seek to have “power under” others — “winning people’s hearts” by sacrificing for those in need, as Jesus did, Mr. Boyd said.

“America wasn’t founded as a theocracy,” he said. “America was founded by people trying to escape theocracies. Never in history have we had a Christian theocracy where it wasn’t bloody and barbaric. That’s why our Constitution wisely put in a separation of church and state.

“I am sorry to tell you,” he continued, “that America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ.”

And…

“I don’t think there’s a particular angle we have on society that others lack. All good, decent people want good and order and justice. Just don’t slap the label ‘Christian’ on it.”

WWGD? (What would George do?) No, it’s WWJD.

Back from camp

Posted on 29. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in parenting, sports, tv

They’re back! One kid was at soccer camp in Santa Barbara, the other was at church camp near Big Bear. Both had a fabulous time, though my son complained that the soccer camp didn’t allow enough nightime sleep. (11:30 bedtime, 6:30 am wake time isn’t enough for a 12-year-old.) The house was quieter and cleaner without them, but not nearly as much fun. It was a taste of what the “empty nest” will be like in five years. We’ll survive it, of course, but I’m not nearly ready. Will I be then?

Both kids slept all afternoon, then we ate dinner and watched a few Tivo’d shows. We discovered that one taste of crystal meth can begin a lifetime addiction, even for a PTA president (Oprah), a rabid anti-illegal immigration Minuteman can open his mind to why illegal immigrants come here (30 Days), Julian Bond will make a great Black friend to Stephen Colbert, and white poodles look best in white outfits (Project Runway). Tomorrow we’ll watch last week’s episode of The Messengers, where contestants spend a night on LA’s Skid Row and then make a speech about it. Yep, it was a regular TV fiesta here tonight. But the kids were a little too tired to do much else.

It takes a village, but what if the village is afraid?

Posted on 28. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, parenting

When you see someone else’s child doing something bad, do you ask them to stop? If not, you’re not alone. And, if you do, you might face consequences.

Yesterday’s Wall St. Journal had a great article by Jeffrey Zaslow, “Out of Line: Why We’re Reluctant To Reprimand Other People’s Children.” He relates stories such as the woman who asked a child in Starbucks if she should be opening sweetener packets and sprinkling them through the air like fairy dust, only to get yelled at by the mother. Then there’s the school board member who was following a school bus when she saw two kids choking each other in the back. She boarded the bus at the next stop and told the kids to stop. The parents demanded she resign from the school board. (She didn’t.) With stories such as these, no wonder we don’t get involved!

A friend told me today about how her child’s tennis coach constantly berates his young charges. No parent has been willing to stand up to him so far.

But Zaslow says that research shows that underneath it all, kids want other adults to care about what they do. It’s tough in the short run, but better in the long run. So screw up your courage and say what you’re thinking…to kids or to that nasty coach!

Complain less, give more

Posted on 28. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites, international, parenting

Feeling down? Here’s a reminder to appreciate what you have, and give to others. This is just one picture from the Powerpoint presentation at www.serving-humanity.net/complain_less.pps

Tour de Bathtub

Posted on 27. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in sports

Maybe if Tour de France winner Floyd Landis had been racing bathtubs he wouldn’t have felt compelled to use performance enhancing drugs. Then again, maybe Mr. Bubble is banned…

How embarrassing. Not much of an example to the kids. The bathtub racing circuit is better off without him.

When I grow up, I want to be my sister’s child…

Posted on 27. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in education, parenting

…and go to Steve & Kate’s Camp in Marin County. This drop-in day camp looks like way too much fun. Activities include bathtub racing, pie-throwing, website design on iBooks (!!), Legos, soccer, climbing wall, Dance Dance Revolution and so much more!

It’s held at one of the local elementary schools, and you only pay for the days your kid goes. (Teddy the Refund Dog takes care of that!) Of course, at $62 a day, Mommy and Daddy need to be extra generous.

When I was a kid, we just played outside and came back in time for dinner. It’s a lost art, but this camp sure beats it.

Can adults enroll?

Nice rats vs. nasty rats

Posted on 26. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in articles

No, it’s not Animal Face-Off. Yesterday’s NYTimes reported in “Nice Rats, Nasty Rats: Maybe It’s All in the Genes” that Russian researchers have been breeding rats since 1959 to be either mean or tame. Each time a rat seemed mean, it was bred with another mean rat. If it was tamer, it was bred with a tamer rat. Since then, the nasty rats have become so bad that they go crazy when a human even approaches, and the nice ones are extremely tame. “Imagine the most evil supervillain and the nicest, sweetest cartoon animal, and that’s what these two strains of rat are like,” one researcher said.

They did the same thing with foxes, and the tame foxes are so domesticated they could be house pets. In fact, the tame foxes were likely to have white patches of fur, small skulls and floppy tails, just like many dogs. Now scientists are examining the genetic makeup of the varied strains to see if there’s something in the gene that can explain the difference. After that, the next step would be to examine humans and apes to see if humans are a domesticated form of ape.

Frankly, I think it would be interesting to examine humans vs. humans. Are there certain people who are genetically inclined to be nastier? It wouldn’t surprise me…

Demotivators

Posted on 26. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in art, cool websites, quotes

As a lover of quotes, I’m also partial to cheesy motivational posters. However, I couldn’t resist the the demotivational pics I found at Despair.com. Here’s an example:

AT DESPAIR, INC., we believe motivational products create unrealistic expectations, raising hopes only to dash them. That’s why we created our soul-crushingly depressing Demotivators® designs, so you can skip the delusions that motivational products induce and head straight for the disappointments that follow!

Many thanks to Scott McLane’s blog for directing me to this!

Cooperstown Dreams Park: Fields of Dreams

Posted on 25. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in my life, sports, travel

I spent last week in a bubble. While war raged in the Middle East and heat scorched the rest of the country, I watched my 12-year-old son’s baseball team play eight hard-fought games against teams from across the U.S. in Cooperstown, NY. No internet access, no cell phone reception at my B&B, and sometimes even no NY Times (yes, there were days that the local markets in this NY village didn’t get their deliveries!). Just baseball, baseball, baseball! (and Twain, see below)

For 11 weeks each summer, 96 baseball teams come to play a tournament at the Cooperstown Dreams Park. This complex has 22 well-maintained fields, barracks that fit all 1,400 kids (mostly boys) and their coaches, batting cages, parking lots, concession stands, etc. etc. 11 x 96 = 1,056 teams that play each summer. They told us during opening ceremonies that an additional 3,100 teams apply to come but there isn’t space for them. Our town has been sending a team since the park opened in 1995.

The first seven games the kids play determine their berth in the playoffs. My son’s team won four and lost three, so they were seeded 43rd and got a “bye” for their first playoff game. They lost the second game 8-7.

My son said that trying to win games was only 20% of the fun. The other 80% was hanging out with the boys and visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame and Cooperstown village. The boys, their parents and the coaches were absolutely terrific, and we all had a great time. My bed & breakfast, Whisperin’ Pines Chalet, was wonderful. My room was huge, and the people that ran it, Chris and Erin Doucas, were friendly and they were great cooks. It was also only a few minutes from the fields, and was reasonably priced.

My father and stepmother drove up for several days, and my stepsister drove out from Boston for a day. My grandfather and stepgrandmother even drove up from the Poconos! Other relatives were able to watch some games on the webcam.

We’re really glad we went. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. My son’s already wondering if he’ll go someday with his kid…hope he does!

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Non-”Teen” Books for Teens

Posted on 23. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in books, parenting

I’ve added a new page to this blog: Non-”Teen” Books for Teens. I’m sick of my daughter reading trashy teen “chick-lit”, so I’m compiling a list of books I can recommend to her (and my son) that are clean and that will hold a their interest. So far my daughter has read and enjoyed and . I want to be careful about what I recommend – if it’s a dud, they may not listen to future suggestions!

Please help me build this list. The challenge will be to remember what’s in books read long ago. It’s easy as an adult to skim over and forget about the 5% of a book that includes a gratuitous inappropriate plotline, but I’d rather not introduce these to my kids. There’s lots of good stuff out there to read, but the challenge is finding it.

Innocents Abroad

Posted on 23. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in books, cool websites, travel

No, I’m not talking about the boys baseball team I just spent the week watching in Cooperstown. More about them in a future post.

I’m talking about Mark Twain’s fabulous book “The Innocents Abroad,” which chronicles his wry impressions of all the places he visited on one of the first-ever pleasure cruises in 1867 to Europe and the Holy Land. I found a hypertext map that shows roughly where he went. You can click on the names on the map to see passages from the book that refer to it.

Twain pulls no punches. If he loves something, he gushes about it. If he doesn’t, he’ll let you know, and many of his opinions would be considered quite politically incorrect today. Given the current Middle East situation, it’s fascinating to read about what was happening there in 1867. Some things never change. Of course, Twain is really funny, and can spend a sentence talking about a major cathedral only to follow it up with a chapter about the scroungy dogs in a city. It’s a dense book, but well worth the read.

In case you’re curious, here’s my vocabulary list from “Innocents Abroad.” These are words I wasn’t completely sure of and looked up afterwards.

Hot time in the city

Posted on 23. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in my life

There’s no way you can convince any of us here that global warming isn’t happening. It was 116 degrees here yesterday. Our pool even hit 104 – hotter than we heat the hot tub! We had some friends over last night, and wound up eating inside. The kids didn’t even want to swim since the pool was so hot.

According to today’s LA Times, these were the highest recorded temperatures EVER in this area. Not a surprise!

Everyone should be rich and famous

Posted on 16. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in quotes

Here’s a quote I like from Jim Carrey:

I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.

Good for him! I’ve actually told my kids that they don’t necessarily want to be famous someday. And, money isn’t the answer either. 

However, I’m sure there are lots of people who’d love to trade shoes with him and try it out…

Make sure your seats are assigned

Posted on 15. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in life lessons, my life, travel

Here’s another entry for Life Lessons:

When you book an airline ticket, be vigilant in getting assigned seats.

My son and I are trying to get to Cooperstown for a baseball tournament this week, and flew out of LAX on American Airlines yesterday. We were told to get boarding passes at the gate at O’Hare for Albany. We ran to the gate as soon as we arrived, but were told that “unassigned seats” on our itinerary meant that we were the “overflow” on this flight. We booked our tickets on April 3rd, and never knew this would happen.

We wound up being bumped, and American Airlines couldn’t guarantee we’d get to Albany even today. But we must get to Cooperstown today for the tournament, so we flew in to Newark instead, and we’re at my father and stepmothers’ house. We’ll drive up today.

Hey, at least I can use their computer! Blog entries from this point on this week will be prescheduled.

Where did all the kids go?

Posted on 14. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, my life, parenting, sports

They’re probably playing video games or chatting on their cellphones, according to Chris Erskine in today’s column.

THIS MIGHT be the first summer in history when no kid ever goes outside. Never breaks a window with a baseball or rolls in the grass under an August moon. Never tastes an apple off a neighbor’s tree or sets up a lemonade stand to make, like, 87 cents.

Yep, this might be the summer it all ends. It’ll be the first time baseball gloves sit idly in the garage for months, and bikes rust alongside the house, lonely and untouched.

Why? Because kids don’t like to leave the house anymore. And who can blame them, not when they have cellphones and PlayStations, Facebook and the latest videos? Listen, ever seen a football? It just sits there in the bin in the garage, inert. Give a kid Madden NFL on Xbox anytime. Touchdown! Yessssss!

I say good for them. Personally, it’s a relief not to have kids all over the place outside, playing in the sprinklers or throwing rocks at crows. They used to make a lot of noise, those kids.

I had my son read the article, and he scoffed that it was just another adult talking about the “good old days.” He says he and his friends mostly play basketball and swim when they get together, though he admitted to some time spent playing video games. He’s pretty sick of hearing from me about how we used to run all over the neighborhood when we were little. He knows he’ll never have that freedom and opportunity, both because our street is busy and because his friends live pretty far away.

I think I’ll tell Chris the kids all went to Northern California. He lives behind my sister’s REAL house, not the faux one she’s living in up north now!

Can grilling meat cause cancer?

Posted on 13. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, food, health

We had a spirited discussion the other night about whether grilling meat certain ways can increase the risk of cancer. I said it does, but at the time I didn’t have the supporting data at hand.

Here it is. Finding these articles was incredibly easy.

American Cancer Society
ACS Expert Offers Tips on Healthy Holiday Grilling
Cooking meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that may increase the risk of cancer. 

100 Most Inspiring Films of All Time

Posted on 13. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites, movies

Here are some ideas of what you can Tivo or rent next: the American Film Institutes’s (AFI) List of 100 Most Inspiring Films of All Time.

They all look good, but we only set about a dozen movies to record. An added benefit is that most are family-friendly.

Jump the Shark

Posted on 11. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites, tv

I happened upon Jump the Shark last night when I was trying to prove to my kids that “Courageous Cat & Minute Mouse” really existed. (“The frog see? Nyah, nyah nyah…”)

Jump the Shark is a term for that defining moment when a television show hits its peak, and it’s all downhill from there. Like when Cousin Oliver met the Brady Bunch, or when Scrappy Doo joined Scooby Doo. When the cast of 90210 graduated from high school, or when Lucy & Ricky moved to Connecticut. They have a database of over 2,500 tv shows, and every one we looked up was there. People vote on if/when they think a show has “jumped the shark.”

Watch out – it’s addictive…

What’s the benefit of doing sports in school?

Posted on 10. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, education, parenting, sports

Is it to learn teamwork? To be fit? To get a college scholarship?

Two articles I read recently bring this question to the forefront:

First, from the LA Times, there’s ‘Academic Redshirting’ Is Getting a Mixed Report Card. It points out that one of the reasons some people start their kids (esp. boys) in school late is that they want the kids to have a better chance of being varsity athletes in high school.

The second article is from the NYTimes: “Once an Athletic Star, Now an Unheavenly Body.” It features former high school and college athletes who have a difficult time maintaining a fitness routine now that they aren’t motivated by a coach or a specific goal.

Why do we place such an emphasis on sports, if it means holding kids back and if it often doesn’t lead to a lifetime of fitness? When a sports program works well, it teaches invaluable lessons about teamwork, the value of hard work, how to win and lose gracefully, and how to stay in shape. Many other extra-curricular activities, such as band, debate, etc., can teach all but the last point. Sometimes we need to hop off the treadmill and evaluate our kids’ longterm goals. Organized sports are great for some kids, but others might benefit more from other options.

Little bird leaving the nest

Posted on 10. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in my life

Our second batch of sparrows is getting ready to leave the nest. The first batch of four baby birds left our front porch about a month ago. This second batch of five is constantly hungry, and one of them even keeps venturing out of the nest.

I’m so afraid it’s going to fall that I’ve put some cushioning below the nest. I probably shouldn’t mess with nature, but I figure nature’s already been messed with since their nest is on a manmade beam.

Lofty summer goals fall short…

Posted on 09. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites, education, international, my life, parenting

I had so many plans to enrich my children this summer! But, so far we’ve only baked healthy, awesome wheat bread (see recipe) and apple pie, and watched a short dvd about how to sell stuff on eBay. Mostly, the kids are reading, swimming, practicing baseball, guitar and saxophone (S) and sleeping after cross-country (K). I haven’t yet had the time or energy to force the kids to learn HTML or Flash against their will.

If we were truly ambitious, we’d learn Chinese. The Chinese government has a new website, http://www.linese.com/, to teach Mandarin free-of-charge. says:

The site includes audio-visual presentations, interactive exercises and advice for teachers of Mandarin Chinese, with photographs and descriptions of cultural icons such as the Great Wall, kung fu actor Jackie Chan and basketball star Yao Ming.

Many of the exercises touch on China’s mythical and imperial past, including practice sentences such as “how can you be a hero if you are unarmed” and “I find that Tibetans like worshipping heroes.”

Huh? Is that last sentence a backhanded slap at the Dalai Lama?

Anyway, I feel like such an underachiever… 

Rosy retail outlook

Posted on 08. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in books, my life

Last weekend a sign went up at the abandoned store at the end of our street that said, “Coming: Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse.” Woohoo! I don’t drink coffee, but I’d love to see a bookstore / hangout place take over that location. It’s been empty for about six years now.

As if that weren’t good enough, today’s Foothill Leader says that the developers of the shopping complex across the street from that are in negotiations with Sport Chalet, Borders and Barnes & Noble. I’d be thrilled to have either Borders or Barnes & Noble a block away! (But if they were, would the Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse still go in?) I think La Canada could also use an office supply store and more restaurants. No more frame stores, cleaners or banks, please!

Shades of grey – mom update

Posted on 08. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in health

The results are in: and they’re inconclusive.

Kaiser analyzed the lumpectomy tissue, and determined that my mom’s neither in the 1/3 of women with her level of cancer that definitely need chemo, nor is she in the 1/3 that definitely don’t. Instead, she’s in the middle 1/3 that might or might not benefit from it. She starts radiation this Thursday, and after six weeks of that she’ll be meeting with her oncologist again to talk about chemo. I’m encouraging her to get a second opinion.

Anyway, thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement.

Everyone deserves a good book

Posted on 07. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in books, cool websites

Not sure what to do with your old books? Or want to get new ones for needy people? Here are some sites you should check out:

• Books for Soldiers: Send books to military personnel. For security reasons, the site requires that you send them a notarized application.
• BookCrossing: Leave your old books where others might find them. See the Go Hunting tab to see where you can find/leave books.
• International Book Project: Sends books to schools, churches and orphanages around the globe.
• Write a Prisoner: Send books to prisoners. Their website notes that there’s a correllation between illiteracy and incarceration, so your book can make a difference!

New mother-son activity

Posted on 06. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in food, my life, parenting

I took my son to Dream Dinners today, and he turned out to be a pro! We worked side by side, and by the time we were halfway through he was making full meals himself. We won the raffle (!) and he chose napkins instead of peach cobbler as the prize. (?!?!?) He told the owner he doesn’t like peaches. Turns out she’d just finished putting together some apple cobbler, and offered that to us instead. Bingo!

I told him I was proud he spoke up and that he was so good at following directions. I also told him it was mature of him to admit that he actually had fun doing something he wasn’t expecting to enjoy. He’s growing up to be a fine young man. 

Can’t wait to eat the meals we made! With his help, we made 13 meals in an hour, and we even split the portions on about half of them!!

Google trends

Posted on 05. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites

Predict the future! Well, you almost can at the new Google Trends at .

Enter a search term, and as long as there have been enough searches for it, Google will tell you how often it has been searched over time, and what cities it’s been searched in most. It also has links to news stories that happened at key points, so you can see why something spiked. If you want to compare two terms, just enter both with a comma between them.

Think of the possibilities!

• An author could see where to go on a book tour (glass castle)
• A demographer could conjecture where babies are most likely to be born in upcoming months (baby names)
• An investor could get a glimpse of how popular that company’s products are (hummer)
• A pet store could see where a certain dog breed is more popular (poodle)
• Politicians could see how popular certain search terms are to voters (global warming, abortion)

Today’s NY Times article, “The Internet Knows What You’ll Do Next” points out a few more:

• Predict which American Idol contestant is most likely to win (Taylor Hicks vs. Katharine McPhee)
• See whether Al Gore or Hillary Clinton is more popular
• Decide which clothing line an apparel store should stock (ed hardy, von dutch)

Check it out – it’s addictive – and let me know your favorite searches!

Lucky to be an American

Posted on 04. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in international, movies, my life, politics

The 4th of July isn’t just about fireworks, burgers and swimming. It’s about appreciating the freedoms we have, and the safety in which we’re able to enjoy them. I may not always agree with what our elected officials do, but I appreciate the fact that they’re elected, and that I have the freedom to say what I want about them. And, I appreciate that others have these freedoms too, and can believe and say whatever they want.

Tonight we watched the movie “I Am David” on Tivo. It’s about a boy who escapes from a prison camp in Bulgaria. I won’t tell you what happens, but it made me cry at the end. The website has stories of modern-day refugee boys.

Or, maybe I was crying because now my sister is talking about staying in northern California…but, I digress…

Happy 4th of July!

Yet another fireworks alternative

Posted on 04. Jul, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites, my life

My mom sent this one to me: http://www.fireworkspop.com/liberty.htm

You click on the sky above New York city and fireworks explode where you want them to.

We won’t be going to any fireworks this evening. We saw some at our local park Memorial Day weekend.

Maybe we’ll all just sit at my computer and click.