Locksley!

"I'll cut your heart out with a spoon!"  

I was really hoping that Alan Rickman passing away was a hoax.  To many he will be remembered as Professor Snape but to me he will always be the Sheriff of Nottingham!!
 
"Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe?"  "Because it's DULL, you twit. It'll hurt more."

 

Odds...

I knew that the odds were that the company would be affected.  Spent a fun weekend with my friends ignoring the fact that Monday would not be good.  

All of our employees were accounted for but there is a handful that lost friends and family members and a bunch more that had near misses.  Even one that was in the concert hall but luckily got out.

It hurts my heart that these things have to happen in the world.  But I also find comfort in the fact that there are those in our lives that can also make sure that a smile can return to my face.


 

Stormy Sandy!

We had survived the storm with a minimal power outage and two slats knocked from the fence.  We considered ourselves lucky and are just dealing with having no internet or TV.  We watched the news at a friend’s house and just marveled at the destruction – it looked like something out of a movie.  I got updates on my friends and family and offered help where we could.  The longest wait being for my godfather who lives out on Long Island.

After three days off, I returned to the office to find it intact – like nothing had ever happened.  Plus a bunch of emails from companies that we work with that ranged from concerned about us to angry over delays getting answers and shipments. 

Our CEO arrived with two generators and 14 gas cans.  Gas was given to those that needed it the most for generators or who had had to leave their homes and were dealing with bigger things than sitting in a gas line.  He sent a co-worker who lives in PA home with the empty gas cans to fill up and the next day the rest of us got our tanks filled.  (Like I needed another reason to love this company!!)

As the sense of “normal” started to creep in, we found out that a nor’easter is coming and there was an earthquake nearby…… a sign of the apocalypse and NJ is the epicenter? 

To top things off, my dad crashed with a tractor trailer.  True to his name – Lucky - he is ok.  There will be a bunch of chiropractor visits in his future and his car is toast (hello, jaws of life!).   Plus, he can’t get a rental car due to the hurricane aftermath…..but he is in one piece.

It’s definitely been a whirlwind!!

Only in America….

We sue a movie theater for showing a violent movie….so, why not sue yourself for buying a ticket??

We don't want to get out of the car to get food nor do we want to interact with people who gives us food - shout a number and type of drink and drive around!  (thank you Bobby Marley)  Yet we get an Edible Arrangement - I just saw how much fruit gets wasted when they make these things!  But there is a local farmer who picks up the scraps for his pigs.

We pay for the privilege of making our own stuffed animals instead of getting one off the shelf ready made (most likely by a small child in Asia).

What a country!

Any News of the Iceberg?

I have always been fascinated by this disaster and I have quite possibly blogged this before but since it’s the 100th anniversary of the skinking and I am not on the commemorative cruise, I figured that it would be worth posting again….

ANY NEWS OF THE ICEBERG?
by Les Barker

On a cold rainy night on a Liverpool quayside
In the years before the great war
The world was in shock at the loss of Titanic,
So proud had they been days before
Relatives gathered for news of their loved ones,
To read through the list of the dead,
When into the throng came a sad eyed old polar bear:
And to the clerk at the counter he said:

Have you got any news of the iceberg?
My family were on it you see.
Have you got any news of the iceberg?
They mean the whole world to me.

My wife and my children were coming from Greenland,
To be by my side in the zoo.
Belinda's my wife, and the eldest's called Bernard
And Billy, well, he's only two.
I know on the ship there were hundreds of people,
And I know that the iceberg's not yours.
The polar bear's eyes held the start of his teardrops.
He covered his face with his paws.

Have you got any news of the iceberg?
My family were on it you see.
Have you got any news of the iceberg?
They mean the whole world to me.

It's been over a year since I last saw my children,
I left home to build a career.
I've worked very hard, I'm a star in the circus.
It's all been for nothing I fear.
There's my face on the poster, we're in town this week.
My children were meeting me here.
Everyone watched as he struggled to speak,
As his paw brushed away one more tear.

Have you got any news of the iceberg?
My family were on it you see.
Have you got any news of the iceberg?
They mean the whole world to me.

By now all the people had gathered beside him,
His grief was one they could share.
The people around him, in silence and sadness
Listened to the sad polar bear
I wanted my children to see me performing.
And Belinda, she would have been proud.
At last lost for words, and his tears flowing freely,
The question was asked by the crowd.

Have you got any news of the iceberg?
My family were on it you see.
Have you got any news of the iceberg?
They mean the whole world to me.

Miracle Dog...

One of the quotes from Marley & Me that will always stick with me was that animals spend most of their lives waiting for you to come home.

We have so much more patience with them and forgive their mistakes faster because they provide such unconditional love.

It blows my mind that someone could be this cruel to an animal.

Early last year, a starving pit bull named Patrick who was rescued from an apartment Dumpster became a celebrity of sorts

Warning – the photos are very graphic – I am still in awe that this dog survived!
http://www.ahscares.org/showarchive.asp?id=772

June 2011 Update
http://www.seattledogspot.com/2011/06/29/patrick-update-hes-looking-great/

Almost a year later he is healthy and thriving….
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Patrick-The-Miracle-Dog-is-thriving-after-escape-from-Newark-garbage-chute-137409248.html

It shows the resilience of animals – he had been treated so cruelly but he still is loving – he knows that those people are there to help him.

Poor guy is in the middle of a custody battle – the people who have cared for him vs. the Humane Society….each side is accusing each other of wanting the dog for profit…..

Consequences…..

Here is my "I am getting old" commentary of the day...


There are consequences for our actions…

The Penn State football coaches kept the focus on their football legacy vs what was going on with one of their own. It took a while, but it caught up to them.

In this area, we had a bunch of football players get into a brawl before a playoff game. School policy is that they would be suspended and not be able to play ball. They did play though - the coach wanted to make the playoffs and knew that he would not be able to without these players. Guess who is looking at losing his job because his focus was on the wrong set of consequences …

9-11...a bit late...

It's a bit late - I know....

The 10 years anniversary passed and I was too busy dealing with funeral stuff and icing two sides of an ankle to write a decent blog entry.

The day before I helped TGP photograph a wedding - while walking across a lawn, the only branch on the property got caught in the straps of my “rockstar” heels and I went down….not gracefully either…just WHAM! on the ground. The branch got me good too – made a “V” shaped cut and proceeded to bleed like crazy….it filled up my shoe and left blood puddles…. Oddly enough, I did not need stitches, but the straps on these awesome shoes twisted my ankle and bruised my foot something firece.

Not much that I can add to all the posts out there except for this – life is too short.

I came across a website that compiled all the comics from that day – I’ll let them do the talking for me instead.

http://cartoonistsremember911.com/

Apple...

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.

And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.

As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.

And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."

- Steve Jobs

Hurricane Irene 2...

This is our local hospital….take a minute and look at where the road should be – parking lots are just beyond that…

The mall that has a moat is very close to where I work….



For even more pix - go here - http://photos.nj.com/njcom_photo_essays/2011/08/images_of_the_aftermath_of_hur.html

Hurricane Irene…

As we started the prep for the hurricane, I was a bit pissed….ok, a lot pissed that the hurricane was ruining my weekend plans…

We sandbagged the garage closed (it goes in under the house), we tied the BBQ to the deck railing, we braved Shoprite and bought water and wine, we retrieved She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Blogged-About after securing her house, we pulled out all the candles and flashlights…..

And then we waited…..

We were lucky – the hurricane was not that bad for us…. She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Blogged-About was not happy about being out of her environment so that was pretty bad but there was nothing that could be done and we all suffered through it….

Then we saw the pictures of what had happened to our neighboring towns due to the flooding….




This is Route 287 - anyone that has visited me from the North has been on this stretch of road.

Grumble...

I know...

I know...

I know...

I can't control the hurricane....

But did it really have to show up on the weekend that we had all planned to go to the Ren Faire??


Hurricane Irene is a jerk....

Just Wondering...

The Taliban members who shot down the helicopter had no idea who was in it.

The US media let everyone know.

Morale is boosted for the bad guys.


The subways get bombed in London.

The US media goes into detail about the US subway systems – complete with showcasing the weak points.

They just gave a bunch of terrorists a way to attack us.

"Extra Sugar"...

Besides the fact that this happened WAY too close to home, the story is hilarious!

“An overnight employee at a New Jersey Dunkin' Donuts was caught selling sex in addition to Munchkins and coffee drinks after police were given an anonymous tip about the off-menu items. Cops cleverly dubbed their investigation "extra sugar".”

For some reason, the girl opted to do an interview and she claims that she thought that the cop was just trying to be her friend.

The people leaving comments have only been adding to the laughs!!

Dunkin Hoenuts….Time to make the dough…the endless “filling the Boston Crème” jokes…oh, there are many creative people out there!

The Nose Knows...

A NOSE of breeding and distinction sets Miss Louisa Belle apart from the pack.

The seven-year-old red bloodhound has such a superior sense of smell that she has been trained to detect tainted corks affecting wine.

Her owners, Michelle Edwards and Daniel Fischl, said when faced with a pile of corks, Belle meticulously selected those that had been tainted by putting them to the side with her snout.
"She just has to sniff a barrel of wine to know whether it is off," Mr Fischl said.

"Most wineries rely on the human nose but that is time-consuming, costly and nowhere near as reliable as Belle, whose nose is 2000 times more sensitive than ours."

The owners of Caulfield-based boutique wine label Linnaea buy fruit from the Napa Valley in California and Heathcote in Victoria and they, along with most overseas vineyards, prefer corks for their bottles. Instead of sniffing corks, they decided to train their dog, who was becoming destructive around the house.

Coming from a line of search-and-rescue dogs, Belle is particularly sensitive to smell and can even detect a tainted wine through the bottle.

"It was time to put her to work because that's what she loves and she was very keen to put her nose into everything," Ms Edwards said.

"After two weeks she could isolate the tainted cork within 30 seconds."

Cork taint is a term that applies to wine that has been contaminated either by the wood where it is stored or the cork in the top of the bottle.

It has an odour that resembles damp and makes the wine undrinkable.

Miss Louisa Belle can detect faulty corks before they are inserted in bottles as well as corks that have broken down when wine has been stored.

She can also detect mildew leaf on vines.

End of the World...

If the world was going to end tomorrow, I am sure that someone would have mentioned it sooner - the masses have been talking about the predictions of Nostradamus for ages now. The May 21st date is a recent development.

There there's the time zone factor - is it ending at 6 pm EST? What about other countries??

I feel bad for the people that have followed this with 100% conviction - going so far as to give away all their wordly posessions in preparation. What are they going to do Sunday morning?

I also read an article that featured all the things that we will miss out on - the list included the last Harry Potter movie, Lady Gaga's new album and finding out who the mother is on HIMYM.

I’m pretty sure that the world is not going to end tomorrow, but just in case…..

Thank you all for reading my blog!

Madoff's Wine...

Speaking of auctions, I found out yesterday that Bernie Madoff’s win collection was going to be auctioned off. It was to be auctioned off in lots of individual bottles and cases and expected to bring in between $15,000 and $21,000.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/17/news/companies/madoff_auction_wine/index.htm

And today we get the results…

According to early results from the online auction, the collection sold for over $41,500, which will be used to compensate victims of the Madoff fraud.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/18/news/companies/madoff_wine_auction/index.htm

Royal Wedding...

“Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.“
- Archbishop of Canterbury



There could be no other topic today except this one – the Royal Wedding!!!

I have no shame in admitting that I watched it – the pomp and circumstance, the elegance, the pageantry – absolutely incredible! And the non stop ringing of the church bells – as if the entire country’s joy kept ringing throughout the land for all to hear.

Royalty used to marry to acquire lands and to make sure that an heir was produced - these two actually married for love. The fact that they waited for so long also showed that Prince William truly is concerned for her well being and wanted to make sure that Kate knew what she was getting herself into and could handle it. With all the comparisons that have been drawn between her and Princess Diana, it would make sense that he would be overprotective of bringing her into the fold.

But there were moments where it looked like a “normal” wedding - Kate Middleton with her nervous energy. Prince Harry joked to his brother as the bride walked in. The Queen looked on as a proud grandmother. Plus, the hated stepmother was there. And the newlyweds just shot the shit as they headed from the church to the reception…..see, just like any other wedding…..

TSA Puppies...

I thought that this was a really great tribute!

Transportation Security Administration Announces Dolan, the 500th Puppy

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Puppy Program today announced the birth of Dolan, its 500th puppy. As part of TSA's Explosives Detection Canine Team efforts, the Puppy Program names each of the puppies after a 9/11 victim to honor their memory and this puppy was named after Capt. Robert Edward Dolan Jr., who lost his life in the attack on the Pentagon. Operating out of Lackland Air Force Base since 2002, TSA's canine program selectively breeds and prepares puppies to be future explosives detection dogs that are assigned to airports and mass transit systems throughout the country. The puppies are named to honor those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, or who are fighting for our freedom overseas.

Elizabeth Taylor’s Jewels to Be Auctioned...

I really wondered what was going to happen with the jewels…..you figure the kids will hold onto some of them.....and I had no idea the Taylor-Burton diamond was sold to fund a hospital!

http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2011/03/28/elizabeth-taylor-jewelry/

According to sources, the actress’s brilliant baubles - estimated in the past at $150 million collectively - are expected to be auctioned by Christie’s sometime in the future. (A Christie’s spokeswoman declined to comment.) And though Taylor loved it all - colored stones, pearls - she had a special place in her heart for diamonds, Sedghi says. “She had a collection like I’ve never seen before, and she knew exactly what every one was - what the diamonds were, the quality. But it was more for her; it was … the history behind it. A lot of them had sentimental value.” Of all her baubles - which included the 69-carat Taylor-Burton diamond (pictured, purchased for more than $1 million) - it was the 33-carat Krupp diamond, gifted to her by fifth husband Richard Burton, that she treasured most.