Dr Jack Kervorkain is Dead

Yep, the man who thrust assisted suicide onto the national stage has passed away. He had a lot of publicity for a while but ended up in jail for a while and kind of fell off the national radar, along with his issue.

Both my parents have told me that they want no extraordinary measures to keep them alive. Shortly before my mother had her stroke, she even told me that she (a staunch Catholic most of her life) could definitely understand where he was coming from. She passed away in '94 from a combination of an auto accident/stroke (accident first, then stroke, the combination was just too much and it was before the clot busters that can help minimize the effects of stroke came on the market). I didn't have to make that decision with her, but still might be faced with it with my father.

As for myself, I can think of circumstances where helping nature take its course would be my choice. I also can understand the people who want to build in lots of safeguards to prevent abuse of the system since I sure don't want someone else making the decision for me!

I ran into Dr. Jack. He was collecting signature at the East Lansing Art Fair while I was in graduate school to get an assisted suicide question on the ballot in Michigan. I stopped, watched a spirited and fun but civil debate he was having with bystanders, signed his petition, shook his hand and wished him luck.

The issue has really fallen off the national radar the last decade or so. It's a shame it takes someone actively breaking the law to spark the discussion.

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Four for Fridays after a pleasant week. This week's questions are random and top off of my head this morning....

1) What are your favorite summertime activities?

2) Have you ever gone camping? If so, how was it?

3) If you had the opportunity to look into your future, what would you look for?

4) Would you rather mow the lawn or shovel the snow?

Enjoy your weekend!

"The Shark Whisperer"

I don't care what "feeling" I had about a shark, I would never, never, never do that. Never.
 

I Need Your Help to Get to LA Fast

I've mentioned in the past my preoccupation with televangelist Robert Tilton. He was the subject of my recent Farting Preacher blog: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2011/05/farting-preacher.html I said in that blog that I was reconnecting with "Pastor Bob" in the hopes of receiving the usual, outrageous slew of mail containing trinkets, come-ons, and impassioned pleas for money.

The "reverend" has not disappointed me. So far, I've received a dollar bill, presumably to prime the donation pump. I received his book, God's Miracle Plan for Man, along with some "anointing oil" and a "prayer cloth." God, perhaps, knows what's in the oil packet - I'm not opening it. The prayer cloth is a small strip of coarse fabric. Two days ago, I received a blue "cord" (yarn) that I'm supposed to pin to myself or wear around my wrist for a day, then put it in my pillowcase and sleep on it overnight. That guarantees a miracle will happen.

All of these items are accompanied by outrageous letters which continually ask for a "vow of faith," a donation pledge that Pastor Bob says will be repaid to you a thousandfold by God. But first, you gotta give him the money.

Yesterday, I received the announcement below in an email. I don't know why Pastor Bob only gave me two days notice of this major event, but I know I must attend. I have no means to do so, however, and thus I am forced to rely upon the charity of my fellow Irregulars to spring for a round trip airline ticket (first class, please), lodging in LA (it would be nice to stay at the Marriott where Pastor Bob is appearing), meals, taxi fare, incidentals, etc. Please contact me as soon as possible after arrangements have been made. God and/or Pastor Bob will return your gift a thousandfold. But first, you gotta give me the money.

JUNE 4, 2011

Saturday Afternoon at 4:00 pm

The Lord Jesus spoke to me "to go back to Los Angeles.  He wants
to release more Prophet's blessings into your life.   Also tell the
people that are sick to come and He will be healing them".

We are coming to see you again and Release
the Prophet's Blessings into Your Life...
Healings, Miracles, Financial Breakthroughs
Blessings, Blessings, Blessings,

I also have a very special Prophetic Message
to Release Heaven's Best into Your Life.
Don't miss this Great Church Service

TAKE A BUS, PLANE, CAR OR TRAIN... BE THERE!
Marriott Hotel Downtown L.A.
333 South Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
*Public Parking Garage Next Door (South) • * Discounted Parking at Marriott
Come and see Signs, Wonders and Miracles through the power that is in the name of Jesus Christ

Open Blog - Friday

Have a good one.

Ballad for the Night (inspired by kk)

There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

And moving thro' a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot:
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village-churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls,
Pass onward from Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot:
Or when the moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed;
"I am half-sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

House cleaning music.

I always LOVED cranking the tunes as i bounced around thew house cleaning it ion Sundays

This gal’s voice was so phenomenal, we should srill being seeing her, but no idea what happened to her.

These guys deserve to be in a Hall of fame. No idea which hall of Fame, but somewhere they deserve alcoloids.

Smashed into fame and faded away. I’m blinded by science.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my iridescent irises! How are you? Wasn’t that lovely weather for Memorial Day? Now that some warm weather is here, let’s not tolerate any complaints about it until at least July. By August we will be baking our brains in the heat and looking forward to fall. So it goes…

I checked out a very handy online article from the Journal Times, “Your guide to summer fun in Racine County,” to see what’s coming up this week: http://www.journaltimes.com/lifestyles/leisure/article_ff8c2baa-7672-11e0-88b9-001cc4c03286.html According to that, this Friday, June 3, will be very busy in downtown Racine and the environs:

“Music on the Monument: Outdoor concert by Brian Daniels (country rock) on Monument Square at Sixth and Main streets in Downtown Racine. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Free. Chairs and umbrellas are provided.” (http://www.racinedowntown.com/2011MOM.html)

“Walden Wheels Car Show: Walden III Middle and High School parking lot, 1012 Center St., Racine. 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free admission, food and beverages. Spectators welcome. People may enter anything with wheels. Call (262) 664-6250 or (262) 770-3113.”

“First Fridays: Main and Sixth streets, Racine. More than 40 Downtown Racine shops and galleries are open until 9 p.m. Enjoy music both in the stores and on the sidewalks, horse-drawn carriage rides and more.” (http://www.racinedowntown.com/firstfriday.html)

Oh my, I really like the democracy of that statement from the Walden Wheels Car Show: “People may enter anything with wheels.” That’s beautiful.

Please note, my dear friends, that Romanian President Traian Basescu is not dead. It’s all part of an email scam designed to infect your computer:

“Romanian President Declared Dead by E-mail Scam”

“Hoax E-mails Relay the False News That Romanian President, Traian Basescu, Was Disfigured and Killed Following a Car Accident; This Is Just the Latest in a Line of Scams Aimed at Exploiting Celebrity Status to Drive Users to Malware”

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/romanian-president-declared-dead-by-e-mail-scam-1520851.htm

Thank heavens! I don’t think that my homeland can withstand many more problems. This is from last Thursday’s Journal Times:

“A Romania-based scam cost a 57-year-old Caledonia man about $30,000 after he tried to buy a Porsche Cayman online, according to police.”

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_d560aade-87e5-11e0-a621-001cc4c002e0.html

Oh dear, oh my, what is the matter with my homeland? What is the matter with the world?

If you really want to know, send a formal request to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Thank you, thank you, my dear Irregular and regular readers (and irreaders?) for perusing my blog today. I so love spending time with you, because I so love you. JTIrregulars.com is the site of good vibrations.

Enjoy the warmer weather, my lovelies. Summer may have arrived. Memorial Day may have broken the ice, in more ways than one. If we start seeing a lot of old Sol, don’t forget the sun block. Hagiolatry!

Open Blog - Wednesday

Peace, love, and rock 'n' roll.

The Last ISS/Endeavor Pass

UPDATE: Okay, I bumped this up since someone on facebook pointed out a really cool part of this pic that I missed. Shortly after the shuttle leaves the ISS, it performs a water dump before returning to Earth. Look closely right beneath the trails and you can see a hazy region in the sky. That's the water dump going on! I see it better in the later pictures instead of the one that is zoomed in. Click on the pics to get the larger version. It doesn't show up as well on the smaller versions.

I have taken lots of photos of the ISS and various shuttles over the year. Either right before docking or right after undocking, you can see them flying together in the night sky. This flight is Endeavors last, so I dragged myself out of bed really early this morning for a 3:19am flyby. I got a couple of shots, but made the rookie mistake of not checking the f stop so they pics came out a little darker than they should have.

The top streak is the ISS and the bottom is Endeavor. Notice there is a bright spot toward the left on the ISS streak. Sometimes the sun glints off the solar panels causing a quick brightening of the ISS. This photo is the first time I have captured this phenomena. And here is the next shot, a wide angle version.

Some of you might get one more chance to see Endeavor and the ISS tonight. Check Heavens Above to see if your location is favored. I don't get another pass here in Tucson. There is only one shuttle flight left. Won't know who is favored for that one until it blasts off.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

A Sign from Heaven

Tuesday, the New Monday

Tomorrow is Hump day already?

City Cites Cosmic Corner for Colors

This blog was originally posted on Friday, May 27, 2011, at 9:25 PM. I bumped it to today (a weekday) to give it more exposure.
----------
Have you noticed the little head shop on the northwest corner of Hamilton and North Main Streets? If you haven't in the past, you probably will now. See the pictures at right.

The store is called Cosmic Corner (http://www.cosmiccorner.com/) and it has been there for at least a couple of years, maybe more. I really don't know. The store manager is the same one who ran the old Mainstream Music downtown. They seem to be thriving in their present location.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed their new colors. It's hard not to. The store used to be painted the same color as the upper level. Someone else noticed, too. Now there is a petition in the store that states "We support Cosmic Corner's new colors" for customers to sign. When I asked about the petition, I was told that the city has scheduled a meeting with the store owner because of objections to the colors. I expressed surprise that the city could tell a private business what color to paint itself. I was then told, "Even though we're not downtown, I guess we're part of that 'downtown thingy' and we need their permission."

That's all I know. I'll admit this is not exactly a piece of investigative journalism. I'm not a journalist. I don't know who objected to the colors, but I assume it's another of Racine's nanny-nazis, like the ones who chased BrewFest out of Festival Hall and want to make smoking and farting in the open air a criminal act. I rest so much better at night knowing that these divine arbiters of all are busy telling everyone else how to live their lives.

things people pass around

Open Blog - Tuesday

Surprise!

Chocolate Fest 2011

Ever wonder where your Nestle's Crunch Bars, Butterfingers and 100 Grand Bars come from? One of those places is Burlington, Wisconsin. Burlington is a small community with a population of 10,000 located about 30 miles west of Racine. Affectionately nicknamed "Chocolate City, U.S.A." after the Nestle's plant was built here in 1966, ChocolateFest has been a regular attraction for Burlington for 25 years on the Memorial Day weekend.

Over the weekend, I took my girlfriend (whom never been there) and my son to visit this spectacle. Even though the skies were cloudy with a few raindrops, the temperatures were in the upper '60's. We had fun, anyways.

The centerpiece of the festival



The midway were rides, games, vendors and delicious food are sold.



Kids digging through chocolate looking for hidden treasures



Dresses made from candy wrappers.
(They actually had a fashion show with these!)

Open Blog - Memorial Day

Thank you.
 

As you & I continue to open our deep pockets

As you & I continue to open our deep pockets for this disaster, that crisis, or the next whatever catastrophe, please keep these facts in mind:

The American Red Cross
President and CEO - Marsha J. Evans
salary for the year 2010 was $651,957, plus all personal, medical, & pension expenses.
Less than 10 cents of your donated dollar actually goes to the cause.

The United Way
President - Brian Gallagher receives a
$375,000 base salary, along with numerous personal & family expense benefits.
Less than 12 cents of your donated dollar actually goes to the cause.

UNICEF
CEO - Caryl M. Stern receives $1.2 Million per year (100k per month) plus all living & housing expenses, including a ROLLS ROYCE.
Less than 15 cents of your donated dollar actually goes to the cause.

The Salvation Army
Commissioner - Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization.
96 cents of all donated dollars go to the cause.

I don't think any further comment is necessary.

Deadline to register for no-call list is Tuesday

The next deadline to register for Wisconsin's no-call list to block calls from telemarketers is Tuesday.

Those who sign up through that day will have their phone numbers put on the list starting July 1.

The list is open to home and cell numbers, but registration must be renewed every two years. Anyone who has forgotten when they signed up can sign up again to be safe.

Wisconsin No Call List Registration

Sunday Grin

A woman and her husband are sitting on the veranda drinking a glass of wine, when she says "I love you."

Her husband asks "Is that you or the wine talking?"

She replies "It's me, talking to the wine."