Earth Hour 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

So, Earth Hour 2009 was this past Saturday night. I couldn't wait to see Boston go 'dark', and by 'dark' I mean that the Pru, John Hancock and several other large buildings would be turning off all lights during this hour. Also, the Zakim Bridge and the Bunker Hill Monument also planned to go dark.

However, much to my chagrin, a massive fog rolled into Boston Harbor that afternoon and stayed there, blanketing the city, and my excitement to see this happen. So, in the end, the entire city was actually dark because of this fog. Oh Mother Nature, why do you torture me so?!?! Anyway, click on this link to check out other cities who participated in Earth Hour 2009. It's pretty cool, just click on each photo and it will show you the 'after'.

Earth Hour 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

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This Is Giving Me Grey Hairs

I'm all for tradition, I really am, but sometimes this one gives me a heart attack. Every night at sunset, to signal the day's end, the USS Constitution fires off her cannon. They call it "The Sunset Serenade". More like "Sunset False Terror Attack". Because sunset is at a different time every night, 365 days out of the year, you don't know when to expect this. And because I live two blocks from the USS Constitution, I can hear it. Loud and clear people! Sometimes it sounds far away, but most times it sounds as if they wheeled the cannon to my driveway and set it off there. I don't seem to get used to this event, even though I have lived there for several years. Sometimes I hit the deck, sometimes I run to the basement to seek shelter, sometimes I just jump out of my skin yelling a naughty profanity that would make my Mom yell my name in two parts: JO!! HANNA!!!. It really depends.
Quite like how I always burn the roof of my mouth with Stouffer's French Bread pizza, when will I learn to acclimate myself to this? It's EVERY. NIGHT. And it still scares the shit out of me.

Rescue Me

A Bangkok fireman donned a SpiderMan costume Monday, in order to rescue an 11 year old Autistic boy who freaked out at his first day of school and climbed out onto the 3rd floor ledge.

Why is a Special Needs school on anything other than the first floor? Regardless, the boy was inconsolable and was crying for his mother, who also responded along with the firemen. Firefighter Somchai Yoosabai overheard his Mother say that the boy had a special admiration for comic book heroes, and seeing how Somchai conveniently owned his own Spidey suit, he ran back to the station, threw it on, and returned to the scene to successfully rescue the boy! Brilliant!

If I were to crawl out on a ledge, here is a list of characters/things my Mom would suggest to use to coax me off:

• Anybody who works at the Goldenrod in York Beach
• A skeeball machine
• Sebastian Schnuelle
• A puppy
• An American Express Black Card
• Olive Ball
• Someone who could guarantee me long & luxurious Claudia Schiffer-like thick blond hair
• Daylon Trotman
• Ellen DeGeneres
• An Oscar
• The E-Trade Baby
• Keith Morrisson from Dateline NBC
• Parker Posey
• Barney &/or Miss Beasley

Who would you want to rescue you?

Real Recap: RHoNY, Let The Shallowness Ensue....

"OH. MUY. GAWD. I am a suyze ZZEERRRROOOOO at Zang Toooiiiiii. I can't wait to tell Baaawwwwby, and Aaahhllleeee and everyone at Zzzzzaaaaarrrinnn Faaaaabbbbricccsss."

"Ladies, let's get started. Kelly was going to join us, but she's apparently super busy not putting her name on all the charities she's not involved with."

"In St. Bart's, Alex's breasts would be a bit lower, but in Brooklyn they are actually more like this."

"I feel like the Statue of Liberty, my love"

LuAnn: "Kelly, I have arthritis, cancer, endometriosis, appendiciticis, lupus, and alzheimers."

Kelly: " OMG HOW CUTE!"

The Black Card

Guess what I got in the mail? An Amex Black Card!!

Okay no I didn't.

My Amex is still light green, the least desirable of all colored Amex Cards, but I'm still excited that I have one at all (Membah since '95!!! YAH! In yo!!). But I do know one person that has a Black card, much to my excitement! That's comparable to knowing royalty, you know. Some features that make the Black Card so exclusive:

• Dedicated concierge and travel agent


• Automatic upgrade to first class on all flights


• Companion ticket for all flights with purchase of full fare ticket


• Exclusive access to all airline clubs, so you don't have to sit with the poor people at the gate


• Personal shopper at Escada, Gucci and Neiman Marcus


• One free hotel room per year at all Mandarin's except for the NYC ones


• The Amex Black Card is made of Titanium, and is a bit thicker than most card


• Annual fee of $2,500, after your initial joining fee of $5,000


• Minimum spending requirement of $250,000 per year
  

Yeah. So I don't see what the big deal is. All this card offers you is extra respect from the girl working the register at Neiman Marcus or the server waiting on you at dinner. And need I remind you, that both of this type of person probably just graduated from college and lives in alone in a studio apartment covered in tapestry's somewhere in the city, so why the hell should I care what they think of me?

I think the Black Amex Card should offer perks like these:

• The ability to punch any BravoTV Real Housewife of your choice in the face


• An Oscar


• Exclusive access to any Registry of Motor Vehicle office statewide, with a guaranteed waiting time of zero minutes


• Big boobs when you want them, little ones when you want them


• Never have to 'Press 1 for English'


• A little sherpa that will get you water in the middle of the night when you wake up dying of thirst because if you go get it, then you'll totally wake up and then never be able to fall asleep again


• Never have to wait in a ladies room line again. Ever.


• You always wake up looking like you just left the hair salon, perfectly made up, lips dewey....


• Eat as much McDonald's as you want without ever gaining weight


• No PMS, bloating, aching, or cramps


• Actually, make that no period whatsoever


• Reinactors, clowns, Stormtroopers, and Mascots know to stay away from you


• The ability to solve mysteries like did OJ do it, who killed JonBenet, Tupac, and Biggie Smalls?

Strive for Black if you must! I dare to stay Green.

My Little Hot to Trotman

Daylon Trotman got an unexpected solo at the Garden during a recent Celtics game. And he TEARS. IT. UPPPPP....

John Adams + Stouffer's Pizza = Best Friday Night Ever

Wow!! When did this happen to me? I used to be such a social butterfly, and the thought of staying in on a Friday night was one I never considered in my younger years. If I was bleeding out of my eyeballs I would still manage to go out. However, I am no longer that young, and my idea of a great Friday night now is to pop in my DVD of the John Adams series I received from Netflix today, eat a Stouffer's French Bread Pizza (and yes, I burned the roof of my mouth eating it.....will I ever learn?), and wrap myself up in a blanket on our huge couch. All that is missing is Twizzlers, but I suppose I will survive.

This John Adams series that aired on HBO is truly incredible. It's based on the book by David McCullough and I demand that you rent it immediately. Paul Giammatti is John Adams, Laura Linney is Abigail Adams, and Tom Wilkinson is Benjamin Franklin, and I swear to you they have me convinced they are the real thing. I am relearning all the history I learned as a youngster, while also learning new things as the series goes along. Here are some examples of what I have learned:

• George Washington was 6'3" and had a sister named Betty!


• Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair


• Benjamin Franklin was hilarious


• John Adams was brilliant but kind of a dick to his kids


• Samuel Adams was a total rebel and rather scary


• They did actually tar and feather people

I will keep you posted with all of the other imperative notes of this time in history, but must keep watching.....

Bada Bing

Bravo TV has sunk to a new low. Or, they have created something entirely to brilliant for words, I haven't decided yet. Meet the new 'Real Housewives', this time the cast being from New Jersey. Oh. Muy. Gawd. No you di-ihntttt!!!

With all of the other 'Real Housewives' show intros, the women are all holding something in the palm of their hand that represents the region they live in. The OC women held oranges, the New York ladies held apples and the Atlanta belles held peaches. New Jersey is a tough one, what do they hold in the palm of their hands for their intro? Here are some ideas:

Little Itty Bitty Gardens (it is the Garden State after all)
Dice (Atlantic City)
Meatballs
Guns
Hairspray
Gum
Rosaries
Gold Chains
Toll Money

Now let's meet the Housewives!

DINA MANZO

"I have seen Cats fourteen times, and let me tell ya somethin: I cry every time, FUHGEDDABOUDIT"

DANIELLE STRAUB

"Guess What? I screwed ya son last night."

JACQUELINE LAURITA
" Sometimes I pretend like I'm a lawyah"


CAROLINE MANZO

"I will punch you."


THERESA GIUDICE

"Hey, Toots. Be sure to catch me in my one woman musical review, Rigatoni, Rigashmoni: The Teresa Giudice Chronicles."

Daylon Trotman

This kid makes me so happy I literally want to cry.

Last Iditarod Post, I swear.....

.....Is it me, or are these dogs SMILING?!?!? The photos are of Lance Mackey with his lead dog after his 2008 Iditarod win, and then with his two lead dogs after his win this year. They know!! They know they won!!

Okay I'll stop now.

An Idea for Iditarod 2010?

It's OVER

Lance Mackey won the Iditarod Race yesterday, marking his third straight win. Whatever. Sebastian Schnuelle came in second, and as far as I am concerned he won this bitch, since he was my pick to from the beginning.

Schnuelle was greeted at the finish line by his father Friedhelm, who flew all the way from Germany to see his son finish, his cougar girlfriend, Libby, and the greedy winner Lance Mackey. Upon finishing, Sebastian made it an immediate priority to thank each of his dogs with kisses, hugs and special dog treats. Can't you just feel the love? (See pics above)

Question: Why are people who win incredible endurance races often named Lance? Just saying.....

I am happy it's over, and sad too. I know Sebastian Schnuelle will forever be in my heart and I can't wait to hear about him next year. Perhaps he and Libby will tie the knot?

Gino WHO?!?

For those of you who go to Celtics games, you know who Gino is. Well Adios Gino, meet 7 year old Daylon Trotman, the latest Jumbotron star at the Garden during Celtics games, and, my new obsession now that the Iditarod is as good as done.

Daylon's mom, Dana, bought a package of Celtics tickets in 2006 and has been going to about half of the games with him each season since. Her young son would 'wiggle in his seat during the music' and she would repeatedly tell him to 'sit down!', until one day he just couldn't contain himself any longer. So, Dana gave him the go-ahead and Daylon jumped out of his seat and broke it DDDDOOOWWWWNNNN!!!!! A jumbotron cameraman saw him and the rest is history, little Daylon has now become a fixture at the games. Daylon is a regular little dancing machine, bustin' out all the moves, like poppin, glide, heel toe, crip walk, wind it up, wu tang move, harlem shake, and the BEST, the soulja boy.

On Wednesday he was honored with an invitation from Ellen DeGeneres to come on to her talk show and discuss his moves. “I’m not nervous,” he told the Boston Herald after he stopped jumping on the bed in his Universal City hotel room. “And I won’t be shy.”
Daylon, who learned to dance from watching TV shows So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew, said if he can wiggle and jiggle in front of 18,600 crazy Celtics fans, then getting happy feet in front of Ellen and her audience will be “no problem.”

That depression I promised you I was about to slip into after the Iditarod ended? Well, I'm calling it off!! Depression cancelled! Daylon brought joy back into my life!! Expect a couple of fun videos of him cuttin it up; they are to follow this post, so stay tuned!

18 sled dogs- over 20 mph!!!

This should give you an idea of how it feels to be a Musher. These dogs are working incredibly hard! (Just trying to get in as much Iditarod stuff as I can)

Cuddles

Sebastian giving his dogs some love.

The Iditarod will have a winner in an hour or so.

Am so depressed.

SuperFinn

Well. It looks like Sebastian is going to take 2nd. I consider that to be practically winning. Therefore I will allow myself to say that I knew I picked a winner when I picked him to follow during the Iditarod. Granted I chose him by his crazy appearance, but still. A woman knows.

Lance Mackey is just 77 miles from the finish in Nome. Unless something catastrophic happens to his sled, or his dogs decide they prefer a nice stroll rather than a steady run, it looks like he will win for the third straight year. Greedy greedy greedy....

Sebastian is just hours behind Mackey, and apparantely in a very good spot, as he is hours in front of everyone else, who have been trapped in a very nasty wind storm which has created 40 mile per hour winds and temperatures going as low as 50 below. No thank you.

Schnuelle said the 48-mile run Tuesday from Koyuk to Elim was a dream compared to what he had just gone through with his dog team the day before. At times the wind was blowing so hard out of Shaktoolik (where his dogs were photographed sleeping, see my post from yesterday) that his dog team was blown sideways, he said. After two of his lead dogs sat down on him (meaning, they gave him the OHHH HELLLL TOOO THE NNNOOOO WE AREN'T RUNNING IN THIS), he put an ornery and very young dog named Finn (see photo above) into lead to get them to the next checkpoint. "I sweet talked him more than I've ever sweet talked a dog," he said. Apparantely Finn saved the day, running solo as the lead dog, when the others refused to run into the wind. When I checked Sebastian's website, Finn's biography reads: Finn is a yearling and I never expected him to race this winter, never mind finishing the Iditarod. He was always somewhat timid but has gained so much confidence this run that his nature changed altogether.

I am sad it's almost over! Running dogs are so much more interesting than running humans.

Sebastian's Doggies Go Night-Night

This photo is so cute. I think it's nice to see that the dogs get little blankies and are all tucked in. I wonder if he read them all a bedtime story too. It's so fascinating that they know it's time to get some much needed sleep before hitting the trail again. These dogs are so incredibly athletic and smart. I just read that Schnuelle is extremely close with his dogs, even more so than I reported to you last week. A fellow musher Jerry Wilomitzer, remarked recently "He prefers to be as close to his dogs as he can ... When I once picked him up for a quick trip to the Dog Mushing Symposium in Fairbanks I walked into his house without knocking (he doesn’t knock on my door either) – and stood right in the middle of his race team. He was sleeping on a mattress on the floor, with almost 20 dogs on a couple of couches and the floor around him. The dogs and Sebastian are a team – year round, on the race trail or at home." That, my friends, is why I love Sebastian Schnuelle so much. That and his hair. And the fact that he was sponsored by 'Big Daddy's Bar-B-Q' (notice his bib above).

I watched a program last night on the 'Vs.' channel about this year's Iditarod. So my interest is back ON LIKE DONKEY KONG! Yay Iditarod! Am so into it again, I can't believe I was ever over it. Am nervous about what I am supposed to do once Sebastian crosses the finish line. What do I obsess over? I think my next topic will be Lawrence Taylor on Dancing With The Stars. Get excited!!

FYI Sebastian Schnuelle is now 2.5 hours behind the current leader, Lance Mackey.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top o'whatever time of day it is that you are reading this! I love this holiday, I love the Irish, and I love all things from Ireland. Here is a list of my fave Irish things:




U2
Pierce Brosnan
Soda Bread
Stormtroopers
Van Morrison
Neat last names that require apostrophes
Shamrocks
Neat first names, like Liam, Seamus, Mairead and Dubhaltach, who's last name is McFhirbhishigh (I swear to you that is a real name)
Guinness
Red hair and freckles
Waterford Crystal
Sweaters
Folklore
Pubs
Green countryside and high jagged cliffs oceanside
Aer Lingus
Riverdance
Cah bawmbs
Potatoe Famines
Claddagh Rings
Tweed Caps
Sad Songs
Happy Songs
The Blarney Stone
McVitie's Digestives
Irish Oatmeal (Zume's makes the best)


I hope you all enjoy St. Patrick's Day! Tonight I am going for a Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner and plan on downing a few pints of Guinness. Did you know that a pint of Guinness is only 120 calories?!?!

P.S. Sebastian Schnuelle is 5 hours behind the leader, Lance Mackey. They are approximately 171 miles from the finish. He still has all 16 dogs with him, woo hoooo!!

SLAINTE!

Oh Darthy Boy.....

What says HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY more than Bagpipers, Irish Dancers, or red nosed politicians in green clover ties?

Why, Stormtroopers, of course!

Yesterday was Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Southie, and as usual, the Stormtroopers and Darth (Mc)Vader marched, representing outerspace's version of how St. Patrick drove snakes out of Ireland. Hans Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were noticeably absent, but then again, they didn't get along with Darth's cronies much. I expect those three will march in Charlestown's Bunker Hill Day instead.

Regardless of my paralyzing fear of reinactors of any kind, I have been fascinated by the Stormtroopers representation on this very Irish day, so have done my research and have uncovered the mystery surrounding them that has eluded me all these years. The group is officially called 'The 501st New England", and are a Star Wars costuming fan club, specifically dressing as Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers, Bounty Hunters and Sith Lords. NERD ALERT! The 501st has a worldwide membership that is 4,000+ and growing, and the 501st New England has 94 members and if you are at least 18 and have a 'movie quality Imperial costume', you too can join! I feel for the short guy who joins, I imagine the ranking officers of the 501st would make him be R2D2. I fear my excessive height would require me to be Chewbacca, when I would really want to be Leia, so I'm not joining.

In addition to having fun in costume (I guess), they also enjoy helping the community by appearing at charity events, children's hospital events, fundraisers and conventions. Lemme tellya somethin', if I were a sick child in hospital and a Stormtrooper came in yielding a weapon I don't think that would make me feel better. One interesting appearance they made was at the "Slanted Fedora" Event in Framingham. Mobsters and Stormtroopers? Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Their hearts are certainly in the right place, and they enjoy dressing up as the toys they played with as kids. It's just good clean fun so you can't fault them at all for it. (That's me trying to be a good person after I called them all nerds.)

P.S. Sebastian Schnuelle is in 2nd place. Just had to give one little itty bitty Iditarod update as I am so over it.

Let's Get This Finished, Lickety Knit! I mean, Split!

Ugh. This race is STILL going on. I am so tired, and I'm not even a Musher.

After taking an early lead, Sebastian Schnuelle is now in 2nd place, and about 9 hours behind the leader, two time Iditarod Champ Lance Mackey. Mackey made it to the Yukon River first, and the first to make it there traditionally gets a gourmet meal and $3,500 cash. It wasn't an easy place to reach first, though, Mackey has been battling extreme fatigue and hallucinations, as he claims he has probably slept a dozen hours since the start of the race Sunday. On route to the Yukon River checkpoint, Mackey dozed off and came to an hour later, way off the trail with very confused dogs pulling him. This mistake could have cost him the race, as he was an hour off the trail with no markers in sight, and the dogs do not appreciate being turned around, as this means (to them) they have done something wrong. So it is apparantely a big blow to their egos and they feel demoralized. The dogs punished him by running at half their normal speed. Hilarious, little K9 revenge, I love it! Mackey also is beginning to have hallucinations. En route to the Yukon River checkpoint, he passed a girl in the middle of nowhere, who delightfully greeted him with a friendly smile and waved - as she sat knitting. Except there was no girl. So now all the Musher's are going crazy, as if they weren't nuts enough already.

I am going nuts too. I just read that sometimes the Iditarod can take 9 to 15 days to finish. Please pray for 9 days, as it has only been 6 days since the start. I am beginning to hallucinate happy smiling waving knitting girls by just following this story!

The Moose is Loose

We are just 700 miles from the Iditarod finish line! Sebastian and his mad crazy head of hair is in third place, but that's a benchmark. With more than half of the race under their belts, the dogs and Mushers are now required to rest their teams for 24 hours. So the actual leader is hard to figure, because the officials have to factor in the required 24 hour break, which most are taking right now, in a magical land called Takotna, population TWELVE. Anyway, Mushers are required to take two 8-hour breaks prior to the finish as well. So this is really anybody's race right now, but I know how much we ALL want Sebastian Schnuell to win!!

(Quick sidenote: I began questionning my actual interest in the Iditarod last night. It's getting old for me, too, FYI. But I have invested this much time and energy into following the race and can't quit now, I am committed. So, in a nutshell, deal with this till it's done. I am struggling with it as well.)

Some exciting news is that now the course is getting a bit more rugged and challenging. There are tremendous amounts of snow this year, so that makes the banks very high, so Mushers can't even see their leaders sometime when coming around corners. They are also anticipating the very likely event of coming across Moose now. The Moose are using the trail to travel on since the snow is more packed than off trail. Sebastian came across a very large Moose just last night, and this is VERY dangerous, as they have been known to attack and stomp a team rather than give up the trail. He said "The dogs went bonkers. It is the closest I've ever been to a moose and the closest I ever want to be." One Musher, Dee Dee Jonrowe, came across a Moose who attempted an attack. In order to survive and protect her dog team, she had to shoot at the large animal, but her gun barrel was so packed with snow that it almost exploded in her hands. JESUS!!!!! But it gets worse and scarier. Dee Dee's lips are blackened with frostbite. BLACKENED. But she is barreling along, singing Johnny Cash songs to her dogs, while also dealing with audio hallucinations, in which she thinks she is hearing people in the woods calling out her name. I need someone to explain to me why the Iditarod is fun to do. Quite like the Iron Man race, where the finishers cross the finish line crawling on their hands and knees, pooping themselves and vomitting, I don't see the fun here.

All of this to win $69,000 and a new truck.

First First, Now Third

Sebastian's in third place right at this very moment, after finishing first last night at the checkpoint in Nikolai. The race is still in progress, and his dogs are all doing well and are passing each medical exam with flying colors!

I am well aware of this bizarre interest I have in the Iditarod, and, in particular, Sebastian Schnuelle. This is how it happened, I went to the official website, reviewed each Musher's bio and photo and selected Sebastian as my fave solely on his choice of hairstyle, just an FYI. I judged a Musher by his cover, what can I say.....

I have also found out that he has a girlfriend. Not that I am interested in him romantically, because I'm not, I am more interested in what kind of woman would be attracted to him. She is also a Musher, so there is the connection. Her name is Libby Riddles and she is the first woman to ever win an Iditarod, in 1985. And she is quite pretty at 53 (he is 38, shock of all shockers, Sebasitan has a COUGAR!), I have posted her pic above.

Stay tuned!

Meet Sebastian's Dogs

Skunk
Joshi

Bonzo

Beast

Bananas

Each dog has his/her own special and unique personalities. You will be pleased to hear that when not in a race or on a trek, the dogs sleep very comfortably inside Sebastian's cabin, often in bed with him, around the bed or on a couch. These dogs are incredible athletes, but also beloved pets. Here is a list of his dogs, and a little bit about them:

Anvil, 5, male

- he has yet to finish a 1,000 miler (I think this is Anvil's year, I really do....)

-runs best with Saffron

-enjoys hanging out and napping on the couch

Bananas, (age unknown), male

-very strong, very hard and honest worker

-not the brightest bulb in the bunch

-annoying bark at feeding time and is a great eater

Beast, 5, male

-he was adopted from another Musher, who adopted him from a kennel. Beast clearly had an unpleasant childhood as he was a growler and put on quite a show when he first lived with Sebastian, who feared for his own fingers and hands around Beast. It took time, but Beast has since learned to love and trust Sebastian and has put his adverse childhood behind him.

-strong runner, great buddies with Bonzo but shy with other dogs

-sleeps at the foot of the bed

Bonzo, 6, male

-loves Beast, and runs best when they are running partners

-sleeps in the bed with Sebastian

-eats everything in sight and is easily bribed with food

Gizzy, 5, male

-very loveable and sweet natured

-not much 'upstairs', although is one of the hardest workers and smoothest runners

Grisman, 5, male

-an Iditarod vet- the strongest lead dog

-brother to Vasser

-called "My Main Man" by Sebastian, who can always count on him

Happy, 5, female

-small but full of spunk and energy

-runs next to Yonder - she is one of the few dogs who will cooperate and tolerate him

Joshi, 6, male

-biggest of all the dogs

-runs all positions well

-gets along with EVERY dog and is super pleasant and loving

Kavik, age unknown, male

-very grumpy, and only likes Polar, who is also extremely grumpy

Nemo, 6, male

-another Iditarod vet

-full of energy and focus, and extremely disciplined once in harness

Par, age unknown, male

-loves old stinky doggie booties from the trail and is easily distracted by them

Saffron, 7, female

-can run any position in the pack, particularly lead

-eats a little too well, and has the tendency to get fat

-loves sleeping, especially on the couch

-her love of food distracts her when it's tinkle time, as often she spends more time searching for food scraps and forgetting to pee

Scruggs, 5, male

-great runner

-enjoys pulling on Sebastian's fuzzy hair and beard

Skunk, 5, female

-good runner, needs more confidence and is working on it

-loves sleeping out on the couch and hanging out with Tang, who is a retired Iditarod dog. Tang is also the alpha female and gets along with no other female except for Skunk

-disappears quite a lot but is always found in the same spot, napping on the passenger seat of Sebastian's truck

Vasser, 5, male

-Grisman's brother

-pees on the couch sometimes by accident

Yonder, 5, male

-hated Sebastian in the beginning

-is very annoying so no other dog likes to run with him, however, Skunk and Happy seem to be able to deal with it lately

This Is Who I Want To Win

His name is Sebastian Schnuelle, he is 38 years old, currently in 2nd place of day four of the Iditarod, and I think he is fabulous. I just love the carefree, no nonsense hair-do, the gooofy smile, the little twinkle in his eye that says 'It's simple: I love what I do'.

Sebastian was born and studied in Germany, and after receiving his degree in Environmental Engineering, he moved to Canada "in search of adventure". In the winter he runs his own tour business called "Blue Kennels", and in the summer he works with Coastal Helicopters out of Juneau Alaska giving helicopter supported dogsled rides on the Juneau Icefield. There are two words that don't go together in the same sentence, 'icefield' and 'summer'.

I am routing for my man Sebastian to win, but am also routing for 19 year old Melissa Owens, who, out of 53 Mushers, is in 18th place. Her father won the Iditarod the year she was born, and she herself is a three time Junior Champion so she has this in her blood.

I will keep you posted! Mush, Sebastian, MUSH!!!

Mush!!

Yesterday marked the first day of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, in Anchorage, Alaska. Since I have a ridiculous love for dogs and sledding, I thought it time for me to learn a thing or two about what is called 'The Last Great Race'.

The Iditarod (first of all, I did not know there was a 't' in the word....the 't' is pronounced like a 'd' so you could imagine my shock when I discovered this....) is a dog sled race from Anchorage to Nome, over approximately 1,150 miles of frozen lakes and rivers, mountain ranges and dark dense forest. The race is usually held in freezing if not below freezing temperatures, and often with limited to no visibility, and, finished within 10 to 17 days. I just checked the official Iditarod website and it is 29 degrees. That's like 90 for Alaska.

The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns to mining camps and beyond to the west coast communities. Mail and supplies went in. Gold came out. All via dog sled. Heroes were made, legends were born.
In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs.
The Iditarod is a commemoration of those yesterdays.

While on the trail and in the race, each Musher has a different strategy for crossing the finish line before the other racers. They may race at night versus the day. They may feed their dogs at different schedules, including snack and water breaks. The Musher knows each and every dog by name, knows it's personal stamina, and knows it's personality and abilities and when they need a rest or may be injured. Which brings me to the dogs, who are really the stars of the show!

Each dog is tested by Official Iditarod (oh that 't', I just can't get used to it) Veterinarians using intensive health screening protocols and evaluations prior to and during the race. On average, each dog will be examined a total of 10,000 times during the training process, mid-race, and race completion! Wow. And finally, prior to the race, each dog is implanted with a micro-chip that is scanned at the start line to prove their eligibility. Sled Dogs have a reputation as being solely of the Alaskan Husky breed, but the ISDVMA (International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association) board of directors recently had to adopt an official definition of a sled dog, and this is the criteria that must be met:

*Demonstrate a willingness to be harnessed and desire to participate in the activity for which it is harnessed.
*Be adequately trained and conditioned for such activity as established by participation in prior events or by demonstration of an appropriate training and conditioning program as determined by knowledgeable race officials, including the race marshal, race judge(s) and race veterinarian(s).
*Be vaccinated and dewormed as required by event rules.
*Be capable of withstanding environmental extremes as deemed appropriate by knowledgeable race officials.
*Pass a pre-race physical exam by a veterinarian who has specific training and knowledge applicable to sled dogs.

Also, each Musher must start with a maximum of 16 dogs, and finish with a minimum of 5. At no point along the race can any dog be replaced....you must finish with dogs you started with and are allowed to 'drop' dogs should they become fatigued or injured, but once that dog is dropped (not quite literally, someone comes to get the dog, nurses it back to health and lovingly returns it to you upon finish) you are one dog less and SOL my friend. Oh and these dogs LOVE. TO. RUN. Some of the dogs running this year even have on-line profiles: Smudge, Bear, Lady, Bugs, Crackle, Sockeye, Babe, Monty, Shy Girl, Marlin, Trapper, Starman and Earp, to name a few.

I will be following the progress of each racer and will keep you posted! Prepare to be bored by Iditarod (oh , that T!!!!) info all week!

Eleven!!

Another person has joined our elite group and I am just tickled pink about it. So, as I do for all new faithfuls, which is welcome them by announcing famous-whatever-number-they-are, I also will do for her. And I know it's a 'her' because she gave birth to me. Word to the Moms!!

Noteworthy Elevens (and this is VERY interesting, who knew 11 is so fascinating?):

-Apollo 11 (The USA skipped sequence numbers on the Apollo moon missions to ensure it was Apollo 11 that landed on the moon)
-The first Great War, World War 1, ended on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month
-In ancient Egypt, King Tutankhamen's tomb had combinations of 11 in the jewelry he wore, and he had 11 oars placed on the floor surrounding his tomb.
-Soccer, cricket, American football and field hockey are all played with teams of 11 players on the field
-In a 12 Step Program Step ELEVEN is a step of meditation and courage
-The television show "Cheers" ran for 11 seasons with 11 main characters
-The television show "MASH" ran for 11 seasons with 11 main characters
-The record number of Oscar awards for any one movie is 11. This was achieved by both "Titanic" and "Ben-Hur", and most recently "Lord of the Rings". (of course I had to do an Oscar reference)
-11:11 is the time of day when legend has it that one can make a wish, and there is a greater chance of it coming true
-Mark Messier, legend Hockey player, was #11
-Phil Simms, NY Giants was #11
-11 is the atomic number of Sodium
-11 is the number of guns in a gun salute to U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps Brigadier Generals, and to Navy and Coast Guard Rear Admirals Lower Half
-The stylized Maple Leaf on the Canadian flag has 11 points
-AND THE BEST:
In the film "This Is Spinal Tap" guitarist Nigel Tufnel proudly shows off an amplifier with top settings of 11, higher than the traditional 10. In 2002, the phrase THESE GO TO ELEVEN, famously quoted in this absolutely hilarious movie, entered the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary with the definition "up to maximum volume"

Fascinating!!

I Am Stupider Now

Normally I would be angered by a headline with such a ridiculously blatant grammatical error, especially from a site like msnbc.com (see circled headline above).

I am not angry, however, because quite like the people at msnbc, I too, am that much more DUMB than I was before I watched last night's Season Finale of 'The Bachelor'. It is with much sadness that I report to you that several of my brain cells died last night during this 2 hour excuse for entertainment. The problem is, is that it's like what I imagine heroin or crack to be. You just get sucked into it and can't bare to pull yourself away, even though you know it is killing the parietal and frontal lobes of your brain. I have partial brain damage today, I am sure of it......

If you missed it, and I pray to God you did, last night was the night when Jason Mesnick, a.k.a. The Bachelor, had to select one of the two final women left standing in the reality dating show, Molly and Melissa. Two hours I watched him profess his love for both women, women he had known for a matter of weeks. For two hours I watched Molly and Melissa cry on and off, but I also watched Jason cry, except there was no 'off' there was just 'on' and what I mean by that is that Jason NEVER stopped crying. And by crying I mean quite literally collapsing into a pile of mush and weeping/sobbing openly for all to see and hear. His four year old son was more masculine than he was at that point.

In the end, he chose Melissa, a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, and a veteran of reality TV. Melissa "Going-For-30-Not-15-Minutes-Of-Fame" Rycroft can be seen in two prior seasons of the riveting reality TV show called 'Making of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders'. I would've been pulling for her had the show she had already been on been called maybe something like oh I don't know, "Making of a Rhodes Scholar"......

So the show ended with the two of them hootin and hollerin about their love on top of some hill in New Zealand. And then they, oh haha, get this, they, OMG I can't believe it, it was hilarious, they....they hahaha they JUMPED INTO THE POOL WITH ALL THEIR CLOTHES ON!!!

It was at this point that I had to come to terms with the fact, that it's official, I am an idiot. These people aren't idiots, I AM. There goes two hours of my life I'll never get back.

Oh and of course it didn't stop there.....we had the after show called 'The Bachelor: After The Final Rose". Another hour!! The show was meant to recap with the happy couple and see how blissful everything has been since taping ended, while also inviting the woman who didn't get chosen, to recap with The Bachelor himself in order to maintain as much awkwardness as possible and also to give her another chance to cry openly on national TV about being dumped months before....on national TV. Good luck in the dating world after this performance, honey!

BUT, the shocker of all shockers (insert sarcastic eye rolling here), Jason actually flipped chicks!! He DUMPED Melissa on National TV, she in turn started ranting and raving and referring to herself in the third person, called him a Bastard, and returned the ring, stomping off stage demanding he never call or text her again. I was like, wait a minute, what about email can he email you? But I digress, so, Jason responded by bursting into tears and doing his trademark sob-int0-both-hands bit. Do not despair, Molly then came out on stage to say that she did in fact, still love him, her feelings have not changed, and Jason then said "GREAT!! Because I just kicked Melissa to the curb 5 minutes ago! Let's go get some coffee and date now!" Molly just smiled and gasped and gasped and smiled and said "Let's do it!"

And they kissed and made out and smiled at each other and made out again and ran off stage together holding hands and laughing.

So I don't know.....I am dumb. It's true. And if you read this whole thing in it's entirety I apologize. I really do. But don't hate the player, hate the game.....I had to get my feelings out, and I will be doing everything I can today to try to produce new brain cells. I hear eating lots of bananas is good for your brain?

Belly Ring

I understand that most men would like to provide their girlfriend with a memorable marriage proposal, since it is (hopefully) the one time in their life they have to be 100% completely and utterly smarmy smarmykin embarassingly romantic. And they hope (hopefully) that she will say YES with tears and hugs and kisses, NOT a trip to the Emergency Room and a bag of prunes and high fiber cereal. Questions? Well read on......

Reed Harris, of New Mexico decided to propose using the hide-the-ring-in-a-beverage game. So, after finishing up a LDS Course (Latter Day Saints.....Mormons) he took her to Wendy's and ordered a Frosty (a milkshake), and plopped the ring in it. See now, Mormon's don't take libations. Mormon's don't drink bubbly, clear and delicious champagne, like we do. And they should, considering that it is the premier see-through beverage of choice whilst providing your betrothed with a deadly choking hazard.

Anyway, Reed and his beloved, a girl named Kaitlin Whipple, are at Wendy's, with a group of friends (who were in on the proposal, hoping to catch the proposal on their cell phone's video feature), drinking milkshakes and having the time of their lives, apparantely. Reed plants the ring in Kaitlin's milkshake, and she proceeds to join in on a milkshake-drinking contest with her girlfriends, who were so completely excited for her to find the ring they thought it to be a great idea to see who could drink the milkshake the fastest, so that Kaitlin would find her ring faster.

Okay now do NOT take me to Wendy's to propose, do NOT ask a bunch of jerky half wits to come along, and do NOT EVER allow me to participate in a milkshake drinking contest.

But it gets worse.

The ultra competitive Kaitlin grabbed a spoon and shoveled the milkshake in, firmly counting on a personal victory. Ummm gross. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, she swallowed the ring. Whole.

“I felt nothing at all,” she told Matt Lauer. “I was racing my friends, so there was no way I was going to lose that competition.”

To which Matt Lauer replied "Ohhh Kaitlin.....oink!!"

Well maybe he didn't say that. Reed Harris continued to tell Matt that he frantically started searching everyone's cups but did not find the ring. He had to come clean to Kaitlin about what was supposed to happen and then what really happened.

“I thought he was joking,” she told Lauer. “I couldn’t believe that I swallowed the ring. I kept waiting for him to get down and propose.”

So instead of rejoicing and toasting to a new engagement at the local Wendy's, the couple were off to the hospital for what I am sure was an unpleasant exam and an Xray. When the Xray tech presented the couple with the image of the ring inside of Kaitlin's belly, reality had set in. But Reed made lemons out of lemonade, and holding the Xray, got down on one knee and officially proposed to Kaitlin, who enthusiastically accepted.

The next day, Kaitlin posted a pic of herself on her blog holding her Xray, a bag of prunes, and a high-fiber breakfast cereal. Her friends reassured her by saying "This too shall pass". I kid you not. Kaitlin reported on her blog that the "Good new is that we got another x-ray and its moved quite a bit and is about to enter my large intestine. So my estimated arrival date is tomorrow afternoon. Lets just hope and pray!"

On Thursday, she had happy news to report on her blog: “It arrived this morning and I have never been so excited about my bodily functions. Haha. It’s so beautiful and I love it. It was definitely well worth the wait.”

It 'arrived'. HORRIFYINGLY, but it arrived, girlfriend got her ring and let's hope learned a very valuable lesson.