The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Fantasy Island' Edition
Time out! I'm callin' a 'time out' from reality this week... No politics. No Economics. No wing-nuts. No war... Let's engage in a little reverie, shall we? C'mon! It'll be fun!
Given that you had the time and wherewithal to go anywhere you'd wish for a dream vacation, where would go to and what would you do once there?
Some good stuff here, I'm sayin'... Enjoy!
Vic from Alaska was first
I would go to Meyer's Chuck, a little hidden cove near Ketchikan here in Alaskaland. While working in and around Ketchikan my native buddy and employee ,one Pete Johnson , A Tlingit Haida indian from Saxman took me on frequent fishing/crabbing and shrimping trips in his skiff. One day we took the long cruise up to the Chuck and I fell in love with the place ...instantly.We hung at the lodge and stayed till Drunk:O'clock in the morning and somehow made it back to Ketchikan but the image and the feel of the place has always stayed with me...I want to not only live there I wanna be the Mayor!
Vic, I don't blame you. It reminds me of my 3 years with the Coast Guard in Maine. I'd live there today 'cept my family is here in Michigan. I loved all the little islands, coves and fishing villages there. Thanks fer the pic!
kitchenrat is thinking warmer...
Cuba. once there i would explore Havana in vintage taxicabs, stop by Hemingway's old finca to pet the cats, hang in the rum shops, listening to fine music and, sitting on the seawall, watch the sunset while
smoking a hand-rolled cigar. and because politics has become inseparable from life these days, i would apologise to anyone I met for the meanness of the embargo and the horrors of Guantanamo.
So was Sallyp(al)
Should our government ever get a clue and stop kissing the asses of the Cuban community in Florida - and resume relations with Cuba - you will find me in Havana! I LOVE Cuba, having gone there as a youngster, back when corporate America was happily exploiting the Island. Oh, yes, believe it or not, we LOVED Castro - until we found out he hated the greed of the oligarchy and the sugar barons who were busy robbing the country blind. But, that's another story for another day...
Ah, to walk the paths of my first love, Che Guevara - perhaps to catch a last glimpse of Fidel AWA soak up the island beauty and rub elbows with the locals...
Adam in NoHo replied...
This isn't too far outside the realm of possibility, but I want to go to St Petersberg for the museums & architecture and, apparently, the pie shops. There is apparently a lot to see in the general area of the city, but I would also want to include a ferry ride across the bay to Helsinki for a night or two.
The husband has always wanted to see Papua New Guinea. I'd like to see the pyramids of Egypt, Machu Picchu, and the big Mayan sites including Teotihuacán. I had a whirlwind trip around the Mediterranean for work, but I would like to revisit the coasts of Greece, Northern Africa, and see Istanbul
again.
I'd love to see The Hermitage in St. Petersberg!
My fellow Wolverine, joe, answers with a poem...
This poem by my Internet friend, John Berry, tells it all. If I could, I'd go back to this place and stay there until I died.
Homelands
by John Berry
Where the fires
Of Creator still shine
In the night.
Past the nests
Of metal city lights
Reflected in the sky.
Where the hills rise
Towards the hawk's flight,
Above.
Past the scars
Of Power lines,
Upon mothers skin.
Where the roads end,
And deer's path leads you
Onward.
Past the stench
Of modern life,
Find Eagle in flight.
This is Indian Country,
Hear the beating,
Of your heart.
Remember the land,
Breathe deep,
And go on.
Copyright © 2000, John Berry, all rights reserved.
Thanks, joe... I have enough Ojibwe blood (Sault tribe) to appreciate what you (and John) mean...
DanD jumps into the WayBack machine with Mr. Peabody and Sherman...
Well, I already BT,DT (been there, done that) ... and most "dream vacation" spots in existence are just wasted on the young and (relatively) healthy (back after a four-and-a-half year military stint and then seven years fermenting in the L.A. area, I then I spent a three year "vacation" attending college in the Philippines).
However, my real dream vacation spot would to be to go back to my senior year of high school under the exact same circumstances that it happened, but doing it all over again with the opportunity to make fresh decisions. Since I would be "going back," I would have my "hind-sight sour-grapes" as a definitive "don't mess with that (particular) dog" foresight.
Now, THAT is a fantasy that I truly could (more likely) enjoy for the rest of my life! Of course that's because I would also insist on retaining the option of keeping the fantasy time-frame as a permanent substitution to the previous, already BT,DT.
Next week Bob, you should solicit the "X" rated version of this particular wet-dream ... .
Let me think about that suggestion for a minute... Hmmm... No...
Well, my turn... Visiting the ancient megalithic tombs, dolmens and ring-forts of Ireland that were older than old when the Egyptian pyramids were built hold a fascination for me and the vistas of New Zealand as shown in the Lord of the Rings movies (as well as the superb trout fishing there) have immense appeal, I can not think of a greater adventure than riding all 9259 km of the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok. I'd have to stop here and there to sight see, of course, and take the Mongolian spur into China to stand on the Great Wall before returning to the main line and resuming the trek. Oh, three months should cover it, dontcha think? Haha!
Thanks Responders! A good reverie is just what I needed in these days of tribulation... So, until next week, as I always say, Don't let the bastards get ya down! Oh! ...and Yer the Best!
BadtotheboneBob
New Question
The 'First 100 Days - Pluses and Minuses' Edition...
Well, Poll-fans, President Obama, aka 'The Man', has reached the first 100 days of his administration. We might as well jump on the wagon with everyone who is evaluating his work and make an assessment of our own...
What are the Pluses and the Minuses of The Man's First Hundred days?
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to
Darenet
Uploading my Power Goo
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Money for Nothing (nytimes.com)
It's necessary to rescue Wall Street to protect the economy, but financial firms should be acting like public utilities, not returning to the practices and paychecks of 2007.
FROMA HARROP: Bottom Line for the Already Insured (creators.com)
The hardest group to sell on national health reform is those who don't desperately need it. That would include Americans who already have coverage through a workplace, about 160 million in all, and are reasonably happy with their deal.
Hugh Ryan: Lindsay Lohan's Fight for Marriage Equality (advocate.com)
She's young. She's messy. She fights with her sometimes girlfriend and she's gone to rehab. Lindsay Lohan's name has been attached to all of these things -- but she's leading the charge for marriage equality in the process.
JENNIFER CORDAY: Lucy Andrews is Out and Fierce (curvemag.com)
Model Lucy Andrews breaks the runway mold, and looks damn good doing it!
EVELYN MCDONNELL: Interview with MARIANNE FAITHFULL (interviewmagazine.com)
Marianne Faithfull has spent more than four decades channeling her checkered life of addictions, dark troughs, and Rolling Stones into some of the most elegantly damaged music this side of the Great Abyss. And no, it hasn't been easy.
KRISTIN A. SMITH: As Dramatic as They Want to Be (curvemag.com)
Telenovela Star went from the laundromat to iTunes.
Neal Broverman: Rolling Stone Known as Mould (advocate.com)
Rock star Bob Mould is the anti-Morrissey; the former member of seminal bands like Hüsker Dü and Sugar is polite, muscular, and openly gay -- and he brought down the house at Coachella.
Trish Bendix: Jen Foster on Women and Song (afterellen.com)
Foster talks about songwriting, being out in the music industry, and her latest hit "I Didn't Just Kiss Her."
DEREK BLASBERG: Interview with Emma WATSON (interviewmagazine.com)
Since the first 'Harry Potter' novel was published in 1997, millions upon millions have dreamt of being transported to Potterworld.
Rick Bentley: 'King of the Hill' celebrates its 250th episode (McClatchy Newspapers)
Under different circumstances it would sound a little creepy for 42-year-old actress Pamela Adlons to brag over the telephone, "I've always felt a great responsibility to young men all over the world."
Reader Contribution
Fonzie Dog
cool eh?
Which television show spawned a successful radio version?
replied:
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny with a nice breeze.
The kid's video camera was stolen from his backpack at school. He's pretty bummed (and I'm not particularly thrilled, either).
Virtuoso With An Opinion
Krystian Zimerman
Polish piano virtuoso Krystian Zimerman, who had enthralled classical music fans on his most recent U.S. tour, suddenly enraged many of them this week when he announced from the stage that he is so unhappy with the United States that he will not perform in the country again.
Zimerman's announcement came near the end of his performance Sunday night at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the last stop on the musician's current U.S. tour. A story posted on the Los Angeles Times' Web site Monday said he blamed U.S. foreign policy, but his manager, Mary Pat Buerkle, told The Associated Press his disenchantment with the country goes beyond that.
Zimerman, one of the few pianists who brings his own Steinway with him on tour, has said security workers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport destroyed one piano in recent years and ripped the keyboard out of another.
According to the Times, Zimerman was about to begin his final piece, Karol Szymanowski's "Variations on a Polish Folk Theme," when he turned to the audience and in a quiet but angry tone accused the United States of wanting to dominate the world.
"Get your hands off of my country," the Times quoted him, saying he also made reference to the U.S. military detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Krystian Zimerman
Tennessee Honors
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis, the piano-pounding rock 'n' roller known as "The Killer," has been honoured by Tennessee legislators who voted to name a stretch of road after him.
A proposal unanimously approved Monday evening by the House designates a stretch of Getwell Road in Shelby County as the Jerry Lee Lewis Highway.
The section runs from the Mississippi state line to Interstate 240.
A companion bill unanimously passed the Senate earlier this month and now goes to Gov. Phil Bredesen for his consideration.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Boston Square Dedication
Edgar Allan Poe
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and poet laureate Sam Cornish are dedicating a square near Boston Common in honor of master of Edgar Allan Poe.
Poe was born in Boston on Jan. 19, 1809. But the author of "The Raven" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" had an often bitter relationship with his hometown. He sometimes lied about his birthplace and voiced his distaste for its literary elite.
But Boston has tried recently to show more love for Poe. The mayor declared January Edgar Allan Poe Appreciation Month.
The square to be dedicated Monday is a short walk from where Poe was born, near the current State Transportation Building.
Edgar Allan Poe
Wilmington, Ohio
Leno
Residents rocked by thousands of layoffs at the local airport or otherwise struggling to survive in the shaky economy are hoping that laughter is the best medicine.
By late afternoon Monday, an estimated 3,300 tickets had been handed out for next month's free comedy show by Jay Leno, who is bringing his act to southwest Ohio as a morale booster.
People in shorts, sunhats and baseball caps sat in lawn chairs or on the ground to form lines that stretched out from four entrances to the Roberts Centre, where Leno will hold his Comedy Stimulus show May 10.
Wilmington, a city of 12,000, has drawn national attention as a vivid example of the economic struggles of small U.S. communities during the recession, and both presidential candidates discussed its plight last year.
Leno
Hating America
RuperTV
Fox (R-Propaganda) became the first broadcast network to turn down a request by President Barack Obama for time, opting to show its drama "Lie to Me" on Wednesday instead of the president's prime-time news conference.
Fox will direct viewers interested in the news conference to Fox Fake News Channel and the Fox Fake Business Network, which will both carry it. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC are all carrying the 8 p.m. EDT event, on Obama's 100th day in office.
This will be Obama's third prime-time news conference as president, a schedule that has caused some private grumbling among network executives. Carrying a news conference costs the four broadcast networks an estimated $10 million-plus in lost advertising revenue.
Executives at Fox, owned by News Corp., would not comment on the decision Monday. It's not without precedent for the network; Fox didn't carry a prime-time speech by resident George W. Bush in November 2001 despite a request from the White House.
RuperTV
Curtain Falls
JVC Jazz Festival
The curtain has fallen on the JVC Jazz Festival New York, and the Big Apple will likely be without a flagship jazz festival until new sponsorship emerges.
A spokesman for the Japanese electronics company said it would not be sponsoring any jazz events in 2009, ending what he called "a productive and successful relationship" dating back to 1984 when JVC first attached its name to the New York festival.
Jazz impresario George Wein, who arranged the original JVC sponsorship deal, called JVC "the best sponsor anybody ever had."
Instead of a festival, the 83-year-old Wein is producing under his own name three concerts at Carnegie Hall in late June, when the JVC event usually takes place. He chose performers he was confident could fill the costly venue - British singer-pianist Jamie Cullum and Diana Krall.
JVC Jazz Festival
Takes Stand Blames Game
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg told jurors on Monday that he didn't hit a man suing him for millions of dollars with a brass-knuckle microphone during a melee at one of his 2005 concerts.
The rapper (real name: Calvin Broadus) took the stand for nearly two hours and denied that he hit Richard Monroe Jr. during the show near Seattle. Broadus said he went back to his tour bus immediately after Monroe jumped on stage and was tackled by security.
Broadus described the people who were on stage during a melee in which Monroe claims he was seriously injured. He identified several people near the struggle as being affiliated with The Game, a fellow rapper who toured with Snoop on the "How the West Was Won" tour.
Snoop Dogg
Two Big Talent Agencies Merge
Hollywood
Two of Hollywood's top talent agencies, William Morris Agency and Endeavor, agreed to merge on Monday, creating a show-business powerhouse that will challenge rivals as the entertainment industry grapples with a recession.
The 111-year-old William Morris and 14-year-old Endeavor will become William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment with more than 300 agents combining the former's strength in reality TV, music and books with the latter's edge in film and TV.
William Morris represents Kanye West, Britney Spears and Russell Crowe in its stable of stars, while Endeavor has actors Matt Damon, Robert De Niro and Adam Sandler.
Industry watchers said the deal will reshape the talent agency landscape in Hollywood and send a signal to rivals such as Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and International Creative Management (ICM) that the new WME Entertainment plans on being a powerhouse in "packaging" actors, directors, writers and other creative talent for films and television shows.
Hollywood
Makes An Example
RIAA
The recording industry has agreed to accept $7,000 to settle a piracy lawsuit it brought against a suburban New York family.
If a judge approves it, the settlement will end a four-year tussle between record companies and Patricia Santangelo. She was accused of illegally downloading and distributing music.
The 46-year-old mother of five from Wappingers (WAHP'-in-jurz) Falls says she couldn't have downloaded anything because she didn't know how.
She took her case to the news media and the industry eventually dropped the lawsuit. But it filed a new one against two of her children, ages 16 and 20 at the time.
RIAA
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
