Bordering on plagerism....

OK, so Thursday the 22nd, the back of the Spotlight in the Rocky Mountain News had the following on it:

Timeless Tales Presents

Ichabod!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Written by Daniel W. Skrbina

Adapted from the Original Screenplay by Rick Ramage.

What's wrong with this picture? Well, if you saw it you might have noticed that it was Chapter 3 of 6, and it was the first one that has run in the Spotlight...I know cause I read everyday's Spotlight. But that's not the REAL problem.

Anyone ever heard of Washington Irving? Just how is it an original screenplay if it's based on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving?

Well, I visited TimelessTales.org, hoping they would acknowledge Mr. Irving. It does tell us the Ichabod is from the Original Musical Adaptation...so at least now they are admitting it's an adaptation. And finally, I find it--I couldn't imagine a site promoting education and classic literature missing this important detail, so at least the website doesn't let us down. I'm a great fan of classic lit, so I'm somewhat appeased...but if it's the literature we're promoting, shouldn't Mr. Irving get some type of billing in the actual paper?

Brain drain

Nothing wipes out your creative juices like sick kids and being stuck at home all week. *sigh*

We were ready for some football...

Well, as you can see, my son donned his Broncos garb, and the final score is Denver 30 and KC 10. We dedicate this one to Uncle Rick!

The last Broncos MNF game on regular TV. I read it is moving to ESPN next year...and we are a cable-free home. It may be one of the only times I regret not having cable.

Taking the joke TOO far

OK, so I admit, I'm not a huge animal person. I had a dog and a cat growing up, and I loved them. We've had some fish since we got married. I'll never be a person who has to take their dog with them when they visit friends. But really...isn't THIS too much? And the hardest part for me is not that these kind of things exist...although that is hard...and not that people actually buy them...because I know some people have lots of money to blow...but its from TARGET! Good old sensible I can count on them Target! Since when have little dogs become an accessory for your outfit? I mean, really?

You've been warned...

Look at this cool new shirt that Roger got for me. :) After my entry about the Broncos on Sunday, he went online and bought it for me from thinkgeek.com I'm sure all of you are going to run out and buy one now too.

Now, where do I wear this?

Concerning the flying of the flag

I've always wondered how it is that people know when to fly the flag at half-staff and for how long it should be flown that way. I was expecting something like you see on the DCSD website for whether school is in session http://www.dcsdk12.org Instead I find that you have to actually pay attention to the proclamations of the President (and governor of your state). http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/proclamations/ is the place to go.

Currently, the flag should be back to full staff, as the period of half-staff for the hurricane victims ended yesterday at sunset. However, I live near a big bunch of car lots, which all compete to have the biggest flag, so I have a patriotic site everytime I'm driving down Broadway...and I don't think everyone has been making note of the proclamations page on the white house site.

In my research I found some interesting things--not only is it against flag etiquette to wear the flag or use napkins with the flag on it...the US flag stamps issued by the post office are actually against flag etiquette http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html

(As an aside...whitehouse.com is no longer a raunchy site.)

???

Seen: Sunday night on I-25 southbound
Man on motorcycle with helmet...attached to the seat of his bike

Roger: What is he trying to protect....his butt?

They pulled it out...

Just to clarify...the Broncos did pull it off. We beat san diego by a field goal in the last 9 seconds of the game. Was it great D...was it Jake the comeback snake...was it Elam making up for 2 failed attempts...or was it the fact that I remembered to dress my 2 month old son in his Broncos outfit?

The world may never know!

Duh....

4th quarter--early in the quarter
Denver 10 San Diego 14
2nd play of a series
Jake Plummer calls a Timeout

Commentator: Saw something he didn't like

Roger: the scoreboard?

You know its love when...

you mention you are in the mood for cookie dough, and he gets up, goes into the kitchen and stirs some up.

Jane Austen

Is it legal for a male to like reading Jane Austen? Or watching a movie based on a Jane Austen novel? If it is legal--is it only legal in England or can American men also read/watch? Which is better--watching Anne of Green Gables or Pride and Prejudice? What is it about JA that draws in women readers?

Does it make sense for a movie company to make a 2 hour movie of something which was marvelously done in 6 hours (paraphrased from my friend Ellie)? How can 2 hours even compare? If anyone out there wants to come critique the new P&P when it comes to the buck flicks with Ellie and I, let me know.

"Totally inadequate...just like you should be"

Today, after a busy day, I found myself feeling totally inadequate. It's funny how I was at the end of my small group rope wondering if shepherding is really my spiritual gift. So, then I checked messages--God just called to confirm that in my inadequacy, he has me right where he wants me. OK, so he used one of his kids to tell me--"I've been praying that you'd be a small group leader in my group." So, now I'm shepherding 3 different small groups, which is totally beyond me, and God is completely happy with it. May He be glorified--let the credit be HIS--if anyone feels loved or learns something.

Spiritual de ja vu Haven't I learned this before, heard this before, doesn't this sound familiar like I read it in a book? And yet it's happening to me. Hmmmm

Bacon

When does bacon not taste like bacon? When it's real! That's right...when you get it straight from the old pig, and not from Bar S, it tastes different. It tastes a bit more like ham. And it isn't in such straight strips either.

"Tomatoes, Sausage, Nice crispy bacon" Meriadoc Brandybuck

So, is it freaky....

to put a link to someone's blog on your blog and them not know it...or know you?

I am a newb, so I just don't know protocol on what is borderline pyscho and what is just normal blog stuff. I have all these blogs I read...they are by people I am acquainted with, but who I wouldn't say I really know. The weird part is you start to get to know this person, and they don't know you're getting to know them. And then if you say hi to them, they give you this look like "who is she? why is she saying 'hi' to me" and you wonder if they would totally think you are strange for having linked to them (hypothetically speaking...of course ;) ) So, even though this post totally makes me feel like a middle schooler, I'm posting it anyway.

You never know who is reading your blog. People are getting to know you, and unless they comment, you don't know they are getting to know you. But then again, maybe no one is really reading your blog. Do you write it for your own catharsis? Or for the world? or both?

It's just WRONG

I just couldn't stop thinking about this last night. I have a friend who had a baby on Saturday and her insurance company only give 48 hours....she had a C-section...which although common is MAJOR abdominal surgery...and all she gets is 48 hours in the hospital. I had a C-section in July, and I was only close to ready to go home after 3 1/2 days. If she had delivered...um...traditionally...she would only have gotten 24 hours. HMOs can be really awful. I know it's been said before, but hey, I'm just now getting to understand why. My favorite story is about how my aunt didn't know she was having TWINS until she arrived at the hospital to deliver...granted that was 30 years ago, but it's the same HMO (KP) that is showing its lack of competence.

They CAN'T be from Colorado

We were in a Mexican restaurant and the family behind us was ordering their meal.

Man: I'd like a burrito.

Waiter: Smothered?

Man: Smothered in what....beans?

Look out for falling bridges

The other night, Roger was shuffling cards for a game of spoons when his "bridge collapsed"

Jon: Hey 52 card pick-up, I love that game

Roger: Only 50 (as he points to the two cards still on the table) The top and bottom one are still here.

Boys

I grew up with a sister and a mom at home. My folks are divorced, so I didn't have a male in the house until I got married. Now, I've got a daughter....and I know about girls, but I've also got a son. To be honest, I never paid much attention to little boys...so now I wonder what I've been missing.

So I read Dobson's "Bringing Up Boys" and learned a lot about how men have been maligned over the past few decades and how much of that I didn't realize was part of my own thinking...I'm proud to be a woman, but I don't have to bash men to be glad about who God made me.

Now I want to know (in all honesty and absolutely NO male bashing) what is cool about boys? Hopefully you can tell me without bashing girls in the process. I'd love all the feedback I can get.

Why do we name hurricanes with human names?

I realize this is totally petty, but I hate having my sweet daughter's name linked to a natural disaster that has debilitated a whole region. Why do we name hurricanes the way we do? I remember reading that they were only named after women until a few years ago. Well, now we have equal opportunity to destroy (if only in the short term) the good name of both men and women...now I feel so much better. Why not use a letter and number combo? Why not use something else to remind people that the storm is not a person, but a natural disaster.

I had a hard time with a computer virus named after me....and working for a "small software company out of Redmond, WA" meant my name was taken in vain in my presence often for a short period of time. It's really not fun. Now my poor sweet 2 year old wonders why people are saying her name on the radio. So, she won't know why, but I do...and I'm her Mom. I love her name, and I hate to have it linked to tragedy.

She may be a 2 year old...and she may act like a 2 year old, but she isn't a natural disaster who kills and displaces people. And NO, it's not funny, so don't tell me how funny it is!