Thoughts and Prayers

I think thoughts and prayers should be banished.

Not the actions themselves but the phrase "thoughts and prayers."

I think I've heard about enough of that phrase recently to last me forever.

I think politicians and public officials are the worst for this, but probably only because they are often asked to comment on tragic situations that they have no close ties to.

A Google News search this afternoon came up with 3,204 uses of the hackneyed phrase, and at first glance many of them appear to be from different sources.

Here's are a few recent uses of the trite phrase in the news:

June 25, 2008, after a western Kentucky plastics plant worker opened fire and killed five co-workers and himself:

"This is a devastating loss to this community which we have been a part of for more than 40 years," Atlantis Plastics CEO Bud Philbrook said in a statement late Wednesday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and we will work with them to provide our help and support."

June 21, 2008, after a NHRA driver was killed when his car crashed and burst into flames:

"That really hits close to home," Keselowski said after winning the pole position for Saturday night's race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis. "(He was) a friend of my family's, and I send my thoughts and prayers out to him. That's tough to hear."

June 17, 2008, President Bush speaking in the East Room of the White House in honor of Black Music Month:

As we honor black music in America, our thoughts turn to one of its legends -- Bo Diddley. Bo was one of the pioneers of rock and roll. And during his more than five decades as a singer, songwriter and performer, he changed the face of music. He really did. We mourn his loss, yet we know this -- that his memory will live on in the songs and the joy he brought to millions -- including a little fellow like me. So all of us here today send our thoughts and prayers to Bo Diddley's family.

I guess I've always heard the phrase and cringed a bit, but it wasn't until Tim Russert died the other day that it really got my hackles up.

"I am grief stricken with the loss and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family."
-Sen. Barack Obama
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and we know that Tim Russert leaves a legacy of integrity of the highest level of journalism and we miss him and we will miss him a lot."

-Sen. John McCain

I've got more to say on this, but I've got to go for now. More next week. Stay tuned.

Team Hoyt

If this doesn't bring a tear to you eye, there's something wrong with you.

I heard about this amazing father and son team some time back and got an e-mail today with a link to this video and just had to share it.

From their Web site:

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together
compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming.
Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across
America.
It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you
consider that Rick can't walk or talk.

Remarkable, to say the least.

Blog Blogged

It's interesting to find out that your blog is being blogged.

(Source: blogged.com)

I came across Blogged, which as far as I can tell searches blogs and sorts them by their labels. I take it's a blog search engine.

Here's what Blogged says about Blogged:

About Us
Blogged.com is all about blog discovery. It's a place for readers to discover interesting blogs and for authors to discover who their readers are. Blogged goes beyond being a traditional blog directory. We focus on providing tools for bloggers and readers alike. Through our database of over 200,000 blogs, readers can discover and explore new blogs. Through our user community, blog authors and their readers can communicate and interact directly with each other.

Our blogs are reviewed, rated, and categorized by our editors, so you won't have to experience the frustration of filtering through blogs that are either spam, outdated, or irrelevant. You'll be able to find quality blogs that you would have unlikely found through a traditional blog search.

Blogged doesn't require anyone to own a blog to sign up. In fact, most of our tools are geared towards readers. We offer bookmarking, sharing, and feedback functions. Anyone can review and rate a blog and help it rise in the rankings. Blogged is a great place for readers looking to start out their day with a fresh list of unread postings from their favorite blogs.

Blog authors can benefit from knowing how their site is perceived. With easy access to reader comments and ratings, authors may see opinions, suggestions, praises and even criticisms. By being listed on Blogged, owners may increase their traffic and attract more audience to their blogs. Aside from a title, description and rating, screen shots are made available to attract readers.

Interesting. I'll have to spend some time checking Blogged out.

Am I Blue

Another one I got from my big sis:

My Heart Is Blue

Love is a doing word for you. You know it's love when you treat each other well. You are a giving lover, but you don't give too much. You expect something in return. Your flirting style: Friendly Your lucky first date: Lunch at an outdoor cafe Your dream lover: Is both generous and selfish What you bring to relationships: Loyalty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

T-M-I Time

I got this from my big sis.

1] Do you currently have a hickey?No.
2] According to your ex, you are?Who cares.
3] Do you tell your best friend everything?Mostly
4] If you're single, why?
5] When was the last time you talked to your number one?Before she left for work this a.m.
6] Have you ever cried and didn't know why?No.
7] Do you like being in pictures?Nope.
8] Have you ever kissed anyone who's name started with a J, P, or T?So many names. Such a bad memory. Just kidding.
9] Do you prefer warm or cold weather?both, combined to make cool.
10] What do you think your best friend is doing right now?Dentist appointment.
11] How old do you think you will be when you finally have kids? That's a toughy. 37?
12] How much money do you have on you?$7 and change.
13] What's your ex doing?Probably turning tricks in some dive bar in East Texas. Unless she's dead? Could she be dead?
14] What are you thinking about right now?If my ex is dead?
15] What’s your middle name?Alexis
16] Where will you be in an hour?answering these questions. Are we almost done.
17] What were you doing at 10 am yesterday?Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z
18] Do you like cuddling?Yeah.
19] Who/what do you hate/dislike currently?Non-stop political coverage.
20] Would you ever cheat on your boyfriend/girlfriend?No
21] Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months without cheating?Yes
22] What was your new years resolution?I don't make them.
23] Do you have anyone who you consider a brother/sister?I have an actual sister.
24] Do you like country music?Hell no. Although I grew up listening to Copperas Cove's country station KOOV and Joe Lombardi. I thought he was cool.
25] Where does your current boyfriend/girlfriend work?The county's alternative high school.
26] What are you looking forward to in the next few months?Going to visit Wilmington, NC.
27] Do you think you would make a good wife/husband?Of course.
28] Is your current hair color mostly your natural hair color?Yup.
29] What color are your eyes?Brown.
30] Has anyone ever borrowed something from you and never returned it?Probably.
31] What are you wearing right now?Jeans and a polo shirt.
32] Do you smile a lot?Of course. What's not to smile about.
33] Where did you get the shirt you're wearing?From my mother.
34] Can you live without the computer?If I had to.
35] Can you play any instruments?I used to could. How's that for grammar.
36] What was your first thought when you looked in the mirror this morning? You're Good Enough, You're Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like You.
37] Do you like to have long hair or short hair?Short, but the girl likes it longish with curls.
38] Have you memorized your social security number?Ages ago.
39] What is the longest you have talked on the phone?Probably an hour and a half to two hours.
41] Is there a meaning behind your profile song?My profile song? This must have come from MySpace or something like that.
42] What do you think of people who don't have sex before marriage?Nothing. That's their business.
43] Do you believe that what goes around comes around?Not always.
44] Who can always make you laugh?Andy Bailey.
45] What's the last ting you ate?Believe it or not, trout ribs. Something the chef at The Lobster Trap is working on.
46] Are you a generally clean or messy person?Messy
47] How has this week been?Just beginning. But it's going to be loooong.
48] How old are your siblings?I'll never tell.
49] Is your myspace profile private?Don't have one. Is that so wrong. I think not. And I guess that answers my question about whether or not these questions originated in MySpace. I used to have one when I was a features writer. It was a good way to keep up with what was going on in Asheville.
50] What do you carry with you at all times?A handkerchief, a pocket knife, a pen and a notebook.

It's an Outrage

Forget about the price of gas. Have you seen the price of beer and liquor?

A pint-size problem
By NANCY KEATES
The Wall Street Journal
Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline may be a cause for outrage. But it pales next to the righteous fury provoked by five-dollar-a-pint beer.
Beer prices at bars and restaurants have risen over the past few months, as prices of hops and barley have skyrocketed and retail business has slowed alongside the economy.
Some restaurants have replaced 16-ounce pint glasses with 14 ouncers — a type of glassware one bartender called a "falsie."
And customers are complaining that bartenders are increasingly putting less than 16 ounces of beer in a pint glass, filling up the extra space with foam.

And from the same article:

Observant wine drinkers may also notice a change in glass size, says Lee Spielman, a regional sales manager at Cardinal. After several years of pouring red wine into oversize "bowls," restaurants and bars now are starting to get complaints from customers about the size of the pour. Many places are switching to much smaller "universal" glasses, designed to hold either red or white wine, he says.

This will not stand! It's time for beer and wine drinkers to come together to fight this injustice!

Is it Just Me?

(AP Photo/LM Otero)

... or did the Clinton clan look like they were wearing mourning clothes during Hillary's concession speech?

Damn

My blog didn't make Technorati's list of Top 100 Blogs again. Don't bother looking. Yours didn't either.
I'm proud to say I've never heard of most of them. I am familiar with:
8. icanhascheezburger.com
12. Daily Kos: State of the Nation
18. TMZ.com Your official site for the latest entertainment news...
39. dooce ®
42. DRUDGE REPORT 2008®

Pictures of the day

The (London) Daily Telegraph has included some intriguing pictures in its Pictures of the Day photo gallery for today.

A few of my favorites include:

(Source: REUTERS)

Barack Obama looking rather angelic during a campaign rally in Bristow, Va., and the classic:

(Source: REUTERS)

North Korea/South Korea cross border stare down.

The World Visits Here

I found out an interesting thing when I added a MapLoco visitors map to my blog. I get visitors from across the pond. Curious.

It's probably because my sister has international friends and she has a link to my blog on hers, but I still think it's kind of cool that they've come here. Even if it's just briefly.

First Contact

(AP Photo / Gleison Miranda, Funai)

I read about these people the other day and was amazed.

It's hard to imagine people still alive on this planet who haven't been contacted in some way by modern civilization. Maybe they did many, many years ago and completely rejected it.

I saw some sort of special on TV once that showed a scientist (I'm assuming an anthropologist) and a film crew made contact with a tribe of people who had never encountered white people before. It was interesting.

A first the people were afraid of the men and their equipment. Then as they got a little more comfortable and closer to the men, they wiped their hands on the men's faces to see if they could wipe the white off.

It's amazing to think about in this modern world that we live in that a person in Western North Carolina could sit at a computer and blog about a group of people in Brazil/Peru that have no idea what a computer is, or a blog, or even any concept that there is a Western North Carolina.

Anyway, I hope they're left alone, which I guess is what these guys are trying to do.

Iceman Killed by Asteroid

Another from lifeinitaly.com. I was searching the Web for news articles that showed world opinion of the political goings on in the United States with regard to the primaries and Barack Obama and I came across a couple of articles that piqued my interest.
Here's the second:

(Source: lifeinitaly.com)

(ANSA) - Bergamo, June 4 - The prehistoric mummy known as the Iceman was either killed by an asteroid or during a ritual sacrifice, a lecturer at England's Bristol University believes.

Addressing a conference attended by experts from five Italian universities, Space Technology Professor Mark Hempsell said he believed new evidence of an asteroid landing could be linked to the Iceman's death. Hempsell, who spent five years deciphering and translating an Assyrian tablet discovered in northern Iraq in the 19th century, said it provided evidence of the hit.

''The tablet bears the diary of an astronomer, who described what he saw in the sky that day,'' Hempsell explained.''Given the geographical vicinity and the period of history, it seems feasible that the asteroid's landing on earth and the Iceman's death could be connected''.

According to Hempsell, the tablet suggests the asteroid landed in Austria in around 3,000 BC, about 40 kilometres from the site where the mummy's body was found in 1991. The tablet translated by the academic describes the annihilation of communities living within 100 kilometres of the spot where the asteroid landed.

Hempsell believes the asteroid landing could also explain his second theory: that the Iceman, also known as Oetzi, may have been a powerful man who was the victim of a ritual sacrifice made to appease the mighty forces who sent the asteroid. The body, which dates back to 3000 BC, has spawned a global cottage industry of studies since he was found in a glacier in the Oetz mountain valley.

There have been discoveries about what he ate and what illnesses he suffered from, as well as a keen debate on how he died. A CAT scan revealed an arrow wound in his body, leading most experts to conclude he was shot during a fight with rival hunters.

However, the precise cause of his death continues to attract various theories. One academic has suggested he was assassinated in a tribal power struggle, while another expert claims the shooting was part of a ritual sacrifice.

Another study - fiercely contested by patriotic residents of this formerly Austrian region who see Oetzi as their proud forefather - reckons he was cast out from his community because a low sperm count rendered him childless.

Forensic science has been made great strides since the Iceman was found by a couple of German hikers in 1991.

''We know so much about him, that he had blue eyes and a few diseases, was getting on a bit at 46, and died from an arrow wound,'' said Bolzano Archaeology Museum Director Angelika Fleckinger.

''But we will probably never know what really happened in the last hours and minutes of his life''.

I'm always fascinated by the iceman when I hear about him. I like the theory that he was shot by an arrow. I think the asteroid theory is a little far-fetched. I also don't think he would have been shot in the shoulder by an arrow as part of a ritual sacrifice. Seems to random and unorganized to me. I think he was murdered.

And can I just say that it bugs me that the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata's (National Associated Press Agency) style of placing the period outside of the quotation mark is annoying to me. Definitely not Associated Press Stylebook. Petty, I know, but annoying.

Cathedral to be Purified After Sex

From lifeinitaly.com:

(Source: lifeinitaly.com)

(ANSA) - Cesena, June 3 - An Italian cathedral will have to be purified after a couple of goth rock fans had sex in a confession box.

The cathedral, in the northern city of Cesena, is no longer considered fit as a place of worship and requires a special Mass to restore its sanctity, church officials said.

The act which desecrated the church took place during a seven o'clock service on Saturday morning.A parishioner heard ''rustling and groaning'' coming from the box and called the Carabinieri, who whisked the curtains aside to find the pair of goths engaged in oral sex.

''We're atheists. Having sex in church is the same as doing it anywhere else,'' said the pair, aged 31 and 32.

Cesena Archbishop Antonio Lanfranchi, who has scheduled a 'reparatory' service for Friday, described the couple's act as ''an outrage of notable proportions which bespeaks unutterable squalor and a complete lack of respect towards other people''.

Craziness.

Submission for Darwin Award

Check out the guy's hair after the inevitable explosion.

World Follows American Elections 'Closely'

While watching all the primary coverage last night, I got to thinking about how or if the rest of the world is viewing the "Race to the Whitehouse."

I logged on to Al Jazeera's English site this morning and found this:

Obama 'favourite global candidate'

The race to be the next president of the United States has captivated the imagination of not just a vast majority of American citizens, but of people worldwide, according to a new report commissioned by Al Jazeera.
And Barack Obama, who is expected to soon clinch the Democratic nomination, is proving as popular abroad as he has at home.
In a survey of 22 countries, published on Tuesday, 80 per cent of people polled who said they were aware of the three main candidates - Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain - said they were following the election "closely".

Apparently Germany is following the election the closest, according to the report, "with a third of people aware of all the candidates also following the election 'very closely'."

Interestingly, not a mention of the elections anywhere on the Russian Itar-Tass news agency. The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies had a pretty straightforward story with the headline "Barack Obama scripts history, seals Democratic nomination."

The Irish and London Times, BBC, China's Xinhua had similarly straightforward stories.

Boyle bums ride on bomber

I came across this on Ashvegas.

(Ashley Ross/Asheville Citizen-Times)

Citizen-Times columnist John Boyle and some other media folks bummed a ride on the B-17 bomber that's visiting Asheville. Looks like Boyle actually did a little work, too, but not before hamming it up in the belly of the bomber. The photo, and an accompanying photo gallery, is by intern Ashley Ross.
Go to the Citizen-Times and check out the photo gallery.

Boyle is one of my colleagues. He's a hoot. Check out his weekly podcast, John Boyle's Web Stew.

OUCH!

Now I understand why police officers sometimes say they didn't give a suspect a field sobriety test because they didn't want them to hurt themselves.

Too Funny

If you havne't seen the movie, this might not be that funny.

No Country For Gay Men from Lawrence Scaduto on Vimeo.
(Source: fourthgradegladiators.com/awesome)