BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST®

From Beloit College, where they do this every year. This will make you feel old, even if you aren’t. (Okay, maybe for everyone EXCEPT Roxanne!)

Most of the students entering College this fall, members of the Class of 2011, were born in 1989. For them, Alvin Ailey, Andrei Sakharov, Huey Newton, Emperor Hirohito, Ted Bundy, Abbie Hoffman, and Don the Beachcomber have always been dead. (Hey. I was born in 1966 and only recognize the names Ted Bundy and Abbie Hoffman...)

1. What Berlin wall?

2. Humvees, minus the artillery, have always been available to the public.

3. Rush Limbaugh and the “Dittoheads” have always been lambasting liberals.

4. They never “rolled down” a car window.

5. Michael Moore has always been angry and funny.

6. They may confuse the Keating Five with a rock group.

7. They have grown up with bottled water.

8. General Motors has always been working on an electric car.

9. Nelson Mandela has always been free and a force in South Africa.

10. Pete Rose has never played baseball.

11. Rap music has always been mainstream.

12. Religious leaders have always been telling politicians what to do, or else!

13. “Off the hook” has never had anything to do with a telephone.

14. Music has always been “unplugged.”

15. Russia has always had a multi-party political system.

16. Women have always been police chiefs in major cities.

17. They were born the year Harvard Law Review Editor Barack Obama announced he might run for office some day.

18. The NBA season has always gone on and on and on and on.

19. Classmates could include Michelle Wie, Jordin Sparks, and Bart Simpson.

20. Half of them may have been members of the Baby-sitters Club.

21. Eastern Airlines has never “earned their wings” in their lifetime.

22. No one has ever been able to sit down comfortably to a meal of “liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” (HUH?)

23. Wal-Mart has always been a larger retailer than Sears and has always employed more workers than GM.

24. Being “lame” has to do with being dumb or inarticulate, not disabled.

25. Wolf Blitzer has always been serving up the news on CNN. (Where was he before??)

26. Katie Couric has always had screen cred. (I remember her first day on the Today show, and she'll never have cred with me!)

27. Al Gore has always been running for president or thinking about it.

28. They never found a prize in a Coca-Cola “MagiCan.” (I never have either!)

29. They were too young to understand Judas Priest’s subliminal messages.

30. When all else fails, the Prozac defense has always been a possibility.

31. Multigrain chips have always provided healthful junk food.

32. They grew up in Wayne’s World.

33. U2 has always been more than a spy plane.

34. They were introduced to Jack Nicholson as “The Joker.”

35. Stadiums, rock tours and sporting events have always had corporate names.

36. American rock groups have always appeared in Moscow.

37. Commercial product placements have been the norm in films and on TV.

38. On Parents’ Day on campus, their folks could be mixing it up with Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz with daughter Zöe, or Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford with son Cody. (What? Kathie Lee and Frank are still together? I'm not sure which is the bigger fool!)

39. Fox has always been a major network.

Missouri Woman Sells Vick Cards Chewed by her Dogs on eBay

This article is from an Associated Press article. The picture is unrelated; my friend, Roxanne, sent it this morning.

Take some trading cards picturing a disgraced NFL superstar. Add some dog slobber and teethmarks. What do you get? The most valuable Michael Vick cards — by far — on eBay, that’s what.

Collector Rochelle Steffen of Cape Girardeau, Mo., gave every Vick card she owned to her dogs and let them go to town on the images of the Atlanta Falcons quarterback who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal dogfighting charge Monday.

Once Monte, her 6-year-old Weimaraner, and Roxie, her Great Dane puppy, were done worrying them, nearly two dozen $1-$10 cards were crumpled, crimped, chewed, torn and generally in a sorry state. Some even had corners missing.

As of Thursday evening, the highest bid on the lot of 22 cards had risen to $455 and more than 2,000 people had viewed the posting. Seventy-seven people already have bid on the auction, which ends Sunday.

The next-most expensive Vick cards — well-preserved specimens from his rookie year — were going for less than half the price of the gnawed ones.

“If I would have had some of his super-duper ones, they would have been right in the mix too,” Steffen said Thursday.

She plans to donate the winning bid money to the humane society of the bidder’s choice.
Since Vick was indicted on federal dogfighting charges last month, former fans have donated Vick jerseys to dog shelters, while others have tried to cash in by selling Vick T-shirts and chew toys for dogs.

“I’m not angry toward him; my anger is toward anyone who would do this to animals,” said Steffen, a college student and artist who wrote a note accompanying her auction to explain it was artistic expression.

“I mean no harm to anyone involved with this auction,” she wrote.

Vick said through a lawyer this week he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.

The St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team known for campy promotions, gave out Vick chew toys Tuesday to the first 15,000 fans with some game proceeds going to the Humane Society. Fans got the St. Paul pig mascot with a No. 7 printed on the back and a tag around its neck with Vick’s picture.

The Atlanta Humane Society also has reported former Vick fans mailing in jerseys — often accompanied by financial contributions and letters of outrage over the charges. Those former fans have suggested the Falcons jerseys become animal bedding or rags to help scrub up the messes that dogs leave behind. Other branches of the Humane Society have said they’ll take donated Vick items to resell on eBay.

Steffen said she hopes to bring more attention to the abuse of animals involved in dogfighting activities.

“The money donated to local shelters makes this whole idea of selling the cards worthwhile,” she said.

Eeeek!

I've tried to find her original comments, but can't run them down. I'd love to know more about her back story; far right folks aren't usually the biggest environmentalists. Anyway, I thought this was a hoot, even without seeing the original comments...

Tupelo councilwoman apologizes about recycling remark
The Associated Press

TUPELO, Miss. --City councilwoman Doyce Deas has publicly apologized for suggesting that residents who don't participate in Tupelo's new curbside recycling program were either lazy or un-Christian.

Deas made the remark earlier this month to WTVA-TV. She was later criticized in several letters to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

"Never in my time in Tupelo have I ever done anything to willfully offend anyone," Deas said as she apologized during the City Council meeting Tuesday.

Deas said she is passionate about the new program and wants everyone to participate.

She said she also understands that because of age or disabilities, some people have trouble recycling. Deas said the city's garbage and recycling hauler, Waste Management, will help carry bins to the curb if a person has a doctor's note.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Tonight was the big night at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. If you can believe it, one has opened in Columbia, and my friend, Roxanne, took me as her guest for the VIP night.

Wow! It was so good! We started with wine and pomegranate martinis, which they refilled through the night. We each got an appetizer: Roxanne the "crabtini, and I the Calamari. She got one of the salads; but since I don't like lettuce, I got lobster bisque. We both got filets - mine was topped with bleu cheese - with various sides, including sweet potato souffle, au gratin potatoes and mushrooms. and, of course, we had to have dessert: Creme Brulee and Bread Pudding, both with my FAVORITE Mer Soleil dessert wine. The bill - which we did NOT have to pay - was $325. Yeah, that's the only time I'll be eating there!

We nearly had to roll ourselves to the car. I may not eat for weeks, but it was SOO good. Thanks, Roxanne.

Roxanne and I were the main VIPS, of course, but we also saw Steve Spurrier, Mayor Bob and various elected officials. We also got lots of fun stuff, including Ruth's hankies and USC/Ruth's Chris Mardi Gras beads, which Winnie is loving so much! (He also got a bite or two of the filet and will be dreaming about it for weeks, maybe longer!)

I'm off to an early bedtime - between the martinis and heavy meal, I'm about to fall out!

Ta ta!

1916 Elephant Hanging Still Haunts Erwin, TN

Check this out. My friend, Brian, sent it over. He's from Tennessee's Tri-City area and says that until it hit the web, most people thought we made it up. (Hey, Brian, when did that area finally get the Web - ha ha!) He adds that Erwin has always been a somewhat backward place, even for the area.

I think this picture is just horrific and fascinating at the same time. I'm trying to think of some clever political/GOP caption for the picture, but I'm just not quick enough today. If you come up with one, post it...

Eating Good in the Neighborhood

And we ain't talking 'bout no Applebees! Thanks to Roxanne, I'll be eating in high style this weekend!

She was lucky enough to score a VIP invitation to Preview Night at the new Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, and I am her lucky guest! (Thank you, thank you!) We'll get to be "practice diners" for the staff and get to order what we want, ON THE HOUSE! And then critique them! Watch out! As Roxanne says,"Holy! We're gonna hurt ourselves."

Our Ernest Lee Prints

Here are some of the Ernest Lee prints we bought a week or so ago. We gave on to someone as a going away gift, and I took another to my office, but these are what we have left. You'll see the bottom one is actually by Scottie Lee, his 12-year-old son.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

You won't believe what I did on Friday - installed two small window unit A/Cs at the house.

This past week was hell in Columbia. Literally. Every day, the temperature climbed over 100 degrees; the heat index was even hotter. Our house was SOO hot. By Friday morning, the inside temperature was 85 degrees. Sister and I came home every night and were unable to do anything. Downstairs was cooler, so I worked on the computer every evening. But when it came to trying to sleep in an 86 degree room, I just couldn't handle it.

We talked to folks about our HVAC unit, and they simply said that most A/C units only cooled 20 degrees and to just deal with it. Not the right answer for me. So Friday, I decided to get small window units for our bedrooms. Apparently, every one else had this idea, too. I took off a little early to get the units, and it took three stops in 105 degree weather to finally find small A/Cs.

The first installation was ROUGH! The directions were less than clear, and by Friday evening, it was 88 degrees inside our house. It was too hot to do anything, much less install an A/C unit when you don't know how, but I couldn't wait 'til Saturday for help. (This is what folks call my stubborn side. I call it determination.)

The first one took over an hour, but by the time I got to Sister's room, I had it down. That one only took 30 minutes.

Was it worth it? YES, YES, 100 times YES! For the first time in a week, we were actually able to sleep Friday night. In the morning, the temperature in our rooms was a cool and breezy 72 degrees, and the inside temperature had gone from 88 degrees to about 77 degrees.

Here is a picture of my handy work. This summer, I've become pretty good at around the house stuff. I've fixed a screen door, installed a ceiling fan (that still hasn't fallen down) and installed two A/Cs. Now that I'm finished, I feel like super woman, but it all nearly killed me. I do not want to get used to such.


Oh, and a shout out to Dad. Now I understand the frustration of not having tools in the right place. Every time I went to look for a certain tool and it wasn't in the right place - like my "She Can Do It" toolkit - I growled. It's my bad; I left them out. But I swear if I ever find all of those tools, I'm putting them back where they belong.

The Fly That Sent Me Over the Edge

I have had a rough few days. My house is hot, it's hot outside, my car was at the dealership longer than it should've been. But the thing that is damn near sending me over the edge: a housefly!

I'm trying my best to relax and read in this hot house, and a housefly the size of a 747 keeps buzzing around me. I thought I'd feel better by Googling housefly and finding out some neat fact about them, but they are just plain out nasty and worthless. I was even more irritated after I read how nasty they are. So I suppose I'll just turn my light out and hope it dies. Or at least goes in Sister's room.

Part-ay on July 30

I received two e-mails today at my Hotmail account with these pictures. One was labeled "reunion;" the other "FW: 8/9." I didn't know what to expect since I didn't recognize the e-mail address, but got a big kick out of seeing these:

Someone in the gang must have an e-mail address similar to mine. Maybe the dude in the bow tie is winstongirl. Or the sister with the yellow hair is instantgirl and the photog was hard of hearing...Or the guy doing that moose thing, maybe he is winstonsboy; he kinda looks like Winnie in that picture!

The Eyes Have It!

I'm a Sephora junkie!

Here are my absolute favorites, can't live without products. Of everything I've tried, these are the products I'll go back for. I think everything else, I can do on the cheap, but these are my splurges.



Urban Decay Primer Potion. The BEST eyeshadow primer I've ever used. With this on, my eyeshadow stays on through a workout at the Y. And isn't the genie bottle cute, too?



Smashbox Eyeshadow Trio in Multi-Flash. Not only are the colors perfect, but the shadow goes on so smooth. May never buy another kind of eyeshadow.






Too Faced Lash Injection Mascara. Those of you who know me well know of my long struggle to find a decent mascara. This is it. No smudging at all. The only drawback is that it only comes in rich black. Small price to pay.

Smashbox Cream Eyeliner Palette. This one had to grow one me, but now, it's all I use. You HAVE to buy the No. 9 brush or it just doesn't go on right. And you have to practice. But worth it. They sell each of these colors in individual containers, but what's better than to have ten go-with-anything colors?

Of course, you can get all of these at Ulta, too. But then you have to drive to Northeast and deal with those cheesy salespeople they have. Plus, you won't get the great samples Sephora sends with each order.

Trucking the Trash

I left out an important part of the transfer station - loading the truck! I didn't think we had any pictures, but I found some today, so here you go.

From the last picture on "Talking Trash," you see a front end loader compacting the trash into a crevice. Under the crevice is actually a big truck...

and the trash is going into its trailer.

When the trailer is full, the driver pulls it out and walks on top of it to further compact it.

The he tarps it and takes it to Waste Management's landfill in Elgin.

This guy is wearing an orange shirt instead of the landfill safety yellow shirt because he is actually employee by N.W. White, not Lexington County Solid Waste Management.

A Day of Fun!

Sister and I had a great Saturday today!

First of all, we had to get out early! This weekend is the sales tax holiday weekend, and I was bound and determined to avoid the families swamping stores to save seven percent!

After a quick charging up at Starbucks, we went to Stein Mart to stock up on our very favorite fashion accessory: Hollywood Fashion Tape. Ladies (and men, too, I suppose), check this stuff out. It is the bomb!

We made a quick stop at Hobby Lobby and then hit Bed, Bath and Beyond and Staples. BBB was the worst stop. They had some kind of fragrance issue throughout the entire store, which gave both Sister and I headaches. I don't know if they were in Yankee Candle overload or it, but it was bad.

We escaped the retail madness by finishing our shopping by 11:15 a.m. Apparently, the sales tax shoppers got a late start. We met Mom and Dad at S&S for an early lunch. You know, there's nothing like a trip to S&S to make you feel like the youngest, most beautiful woman in town. It's all big, blue hair and SAS shoes.

Then Papa Bone, Sister and I took off to see The Simpsons movie. It was soooo funny. This is a must see, folks! I have always related to Lisa, and this time was no different. Laugh out loud funny.

After the movie, we went on a hunt for Ernest Lee. I needed to exchange a funky chicken painting that we'd bought earlier in the week. Turns out, Ernest Lee lives in a camper on the same highway my office is located off of. We exchanged the painting - for a new cat painting - and bought another one. Love me some Ernest Lee! Pictures to come.

Then somehow, we corralled Dad into going to Swiftwater Beads. (I'm about to launch a new Web site for my earrings and such and needed to stock up on beads.) We also made it by The State Museum gift shop, as well as Preppy Puppies for dog food.

All that, and we were home by 5 p.m. Great Sister Saturday!

Talking Trash!

I haven't kept up with my promise of educating y'all on the ways of the landfill, so I will give you a new lesson this afternoon: the transfer station.

All of Lexington County's household garbage - over 100,000 tons annually -comes to the transfer station.

As you learned in June, the garbage trucks first weigh in at the scales. Afterwards, they drive to the transfer station, located without shouting distance (a very loud one, maybe) of the scale house/administration building.

The trucks back into the transfer station and dump their load.

A Lexington County Solid Waste Management (SWM) heavy equipment operator (HEO) uses a front-end loader to push and compact trash into a trailer, which is located under the floor of the station.Approximately 10 to 12 loads are pushed and compacted at a time.

Once full, the trailer it is pulled out, tarped and moved to back of building. An NW White truck picks it up and transfers to Waste Management landfill in Elgin, where tipping fee is $20 per ton.

Please, don't hate me 'cause I work in such a cool place! Coming soon, information on our collection stations. (I'm not going in any order here or I would've done that one first!)