Twisted Head Saga Part Three

Now I don't want you to think I'm whining. But, seriously, I am. This stupid spasmodic torticollis is really pissing me off. First of all, the Botox was supposed to be a miracle. Not. I think I told you it can take 2-3 weeks for those little toxins to reach the little brain cells (yes, I'm sure blond jokes will abound) that are telling my muscles to contract. So, I called the doc after just 9 days and said, "PLEASE HELP ME!". So, they "worked me in". 2 hours later I had another set of 15 shots of Botox in the neck muscles. You guys out there listen up. The neurologist said that it is clear to him that women can tolerate pain more then men. So there! Anyway, at night, in particular, my neck really spasms so I bought a cervical collar. Now what is pissing me off is that three things that I truly enjoy are being hampered by this malady. Golf. I lost a match the other day that I never should have lost. Ever try to read a breaking putt with your left should raised 5 inches higher than the other. I was missing 4 foot putts! Drat! Then, I can't cook the way I like. I have this great Shun Ken Onion Chef's Knife that my hubby gave me a few years ago. Sharp sharp sharp. Try chopping with your head bouncing around like a bobble doll. Dan Akroyd as Julia Child on SNL anyone? And finally reading and writing. Good thing this program has spell check because every other word is like thid . Hid yoi lije thia. And not being able to read, well, I have yet to find a comfortable position. The cervical collar helps. Maybe I should just download some to my ipod. So, here I sit, cervical collar on, typing you a note to let you know that that GD! Botox better work. Oh, and the doc says, this malady doesn't go away. Learn to live with it. I shall because we all know what the alternative is....

The Fairy Tale All Little Girls Should Read

This is the fairy tale that should have been read to us when we were little...

Once upon a time...in a land far away...a beautiful, independent self assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess’ lap and said, “elegant lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you however, and I will turn back into the dapper young prince that I am and then my sweet...we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle...with my mother...where you will prepare my meals...clean my clothes...bear my children and forever feel grateful and happy doing so”.

That night...as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sautéed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled...and thought to herself:

I don’t f**king think so...

Sibling Rivalry: Three Sisters and Their Story...

In a couple of weeks from now my OLDER sister and I are embarking on our first major trip together. I guess you could say it's not our first journey together because just by virtue of being sisters, we've been on a life long trip. We also have a younger sister who is 6 years younger than me. My older sister and I don't really know a whole lot about her because when she was 8 or 9, we were 14 and 16 and could have cared less about her other than for her to stay out of our way. My older sister, I'll call "G". She is 16 months older than me. Our relationship, from the time we were born until our thirties, was a tumultuous one. Read more...

The Twisted Head Saga Continues

The last time I blogged about my torticollis I was awaiting an appointment for some Botox injections...which was to cure all ills. Oh, if life were so simple. If one could snap one's fingers and what you wanted appeared. Well, there has been no genie in a bottle for moi. There has been only disappointment and misinformation. My poison pen is directed at the mail order pharmacy Medco who has a contract with United Health Care to fulfill the prescriptions of UHC's insured. The crux of the biscuit, a favorite coinage by Frank Zappa, is that I should have shucked out the $1100 for the two vials and dealt with reimbursement later. But both the doctor's office as well as the insurance company ASSURED me that the Botox would be in the doc's office in a matter of days. Read more...

Come to Jamaica Pretty Lady

Let me tell you a story about a trip I took a few years back to the beautiful island of Jamaica.  When I was in the cruise business, I often had clients ask which of the islands in the Caribbean are the most beautiful. Well, for me, they are the islands formed by volcanoes that created beautiful seasides but gorgeous mountains such as  St. Lucia, Martinique, and,yes, Jamaica.  They are mountainous, have beautiful rivers and, for the most part, lush greenery. In other words, they're more than a few feet above sea level. I had been to Jamaica many times with my then, and soon to be ex, husband so this was my first trip solo (newly d-i-v-o-r-c-ed). Read more...

The Twisted Head

And, no, I'm not talking about the name of a pub in Scotland or perhaps Bill Clinton's supposed physical problem... Now Hairball, behave yourself. I'm talking about MY neck. Some of you who follow me on Face Book know that I've been diagnosed with torticollis. I have Laterocollis. Read more...

What's On My Kindle

As I blogged before, it took me awhile to buy an e-reader but I did.  More for travel than anything else.  But I've become addicted to downloading books, which were once $9.99.  Now, thanks to Apple and IPad, the download prices are closer to $15.  Thanks a bunch Apple.  Anyway, my community newsletter has asked me to write a monthly book review and my first two reviews were The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Larsson and That Old Cape Magic by Russo.  I really do love to read and since the weather here in the southeast has not been conducive to golfing or gardening, I read and oh yes, blog.  So, here's a partial list of what's on my Kindle.  Before the list, here is an interesting tidbit about the Kindle.  Many of the classics are FREE to download or at a greatly reduced rate, like a dollar.  The other thing I've found out about Kindle and publishing is that not all authors/publishing houses have negotiated an e-book deal so you can't get them on an ebook, like John Grisham9pdate 1/14, now you can), or they wait for three months to publish to Kindle, like Stephen King. Read more...

Tires and Sex

NOT sex with tires but tires and sex.  Ok then. What in the world are you talking about Hairball?  Let me tell you a little story that will clarify, anger, and amuse.  Back in the mid-80's I took a great trip to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok.  This little story takes place in Bangkok.   Thailand is a fascinating and beautiful country.  Buddist temples on street corners with some of the most beautiful women in the world, thousands and thousands of orchids and phenomenal hotels and incredible cuisine.  And, sex.  Before the Vietnam war, there was very little sex trade in Thailand.  It became a favorite R and R spot for the troops and then Bangkok (an appropriate name I guess)  became known for its sex trade. Read more...

Asthma and Claustrophobia

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Serious up.  I'm asthmatic and have claustrophobia.  Does being asthmatic necessarily mean you're going to be claustrophobic?  Maybe.  I read about this in Prevention magazine.  It seems that recent studies show that there is a striking connection between asthma and psychological problems, i.e. depression and anxiety.  If you've ever been in a situation where you have not been able to breath, it's not hard then for the mind to extrapolate,  "small place, no air."

The Olympics and Condoms-Strange Bedfellows

Did that title get your attention?  I was telling some friends of mine about this the other day.  I had read about this concerning another Olympics.   Their response was "you've got to be kidding".  Nope.  Would Hairball lie to you honey?   The practice of handing out free condoms began in 1992 in Barcelona.  Condom use within the Vancouver Olympic village is rampant.  This year some 100,000 free condoms were given to some 7000 athletes and officials of the games.  That's some 14 condoms PER person.  Back up...they gave them to the officials too?  This makes Tiger Woods and his trysts pale in comparison.  What do they have there?  A condom depot? Read more...

Totally Worthless Info to Impress Your Friends

A friend recently suggested I pick up a copy of a book entitled Who Knew.  Well, I obviously didn't know or I would have already read it. By the by, if I can't get a book on Kindle through Amazon, I buy them used.  My sister would say "go to the library".  But I bought this book for $3 and change including shipping.  So, there ya go.  The sub-title of the book is:  Things You Didn't Know About Things You Know Well by David Hoffman .

So, did you know:

If Jell-O is hooked up to an EEG, it registers movements virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult.  After a martini or before?

On average, a Twinkie will explode in a microwave in 45 seconds.  Ok, tell me the truth.  How many of you tried this?

There are approximately 1,750 O's in every can of SpaghettiOs.  Job descriptiton:  The job entails counting food elements but not eating them...

Coca Cola was first marketed as "the best cure for a hangover".  A true Texas cure for a hangover:  A Big Red float with vanilla BlueBell Ice Cream.

The five  interlocking Olympic rings are black, blue, red, white, and yellow because at least one of these colors appears on every national flag.  Hurray for our Olympic team in Vancouver.  The most medals since Lake Placid.  Hmm, do we have to apologize for that? I just had to say it...

Banks are commonly shaped like pigs because in the eighteenth century frugal people saved their money in earthenware jars made of dense orange clay known as pygg.   Today banks are viewed as pigs...

In Pulp Fiction, the word f**k is used 257 times.  Just a typical day on the golf course folks...

For you dog lovers out there that do not pick up your pooch's poop:  Each instance of dog poop that goes unscooped attracts approx. 144 flies! Oh Oh yuck!

Seinfeld wasn't Jerry Seinfeld's first sitcom.  He played the govenor's speechwriter on Benson, but was fired after three episodes.   Why didn't he just show up the next day and pretend that he hadn't been fired? 

On average, we forget 80% of what we learn on any given day.  Is that before or after menapause?

What if You Had Two Cows: Political Science for Dummies

This is floating around the internet and I found it funny:

DEMOCRATIC
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow. Read more...

A Small But Growing Culture Within the NBA

Hairball, you mean other than tats, and guns, and women?  I'm not an NBA fan.  I can't even remember  the last time I went to an NBA game.  I think, maybe,  it was in Dallas in 1990.  So, if you're not an NBA fan, why are you writing about it?  It's because whenever I see an article about something "different", I read it.  And this article in today's WSJ really caught my eye.  It seems that over the last decade the NBA has recruited more and more players from outside of the good old U S of A. (Hairball, you really don't watch the sport if that's news to you.)  Stop being a wisenheimer and let me finish.  For those of you who DON"T know this, the number of players born outside of the US has doubled over the last decade (up to 83).  This year, 5 of the top 15 highest paid players are from outside the US.  Ok, OK.  You've made your point.  Move on.  The locker room atmosphere is changing.  While the American players listen to their iPods, iPhones to their ears, looking at laptops, the foreign born players are....drum roll please...READING!  WHAT?!  READING?! In the NBA?!        Listen up.  If you take into account the countries they come from Russia,  the Ukraine, Lithuania, Nigeria etc and couple this with their economic status, they could not  afford nor did they have access to ipods, iphones, laptops etc.  Instead, they read.  Their coaches insisted that they read.  So, it has carried forward.  New Orleans Hornets player, Emeka Okafor, just finished The Road, Interpreter of Maladies, and The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao.  Trust me.  These are not light weight books.  Apparently some of this is nibbling at the edges of the NBA culture.  The Bucks gave all of their players Kindles for Christmas.  But don't get the idea that this all hunky dory with the other players.  (Do you think any of the players in the NBA would say hunky dory? I'm not going to write what I believe they would actually say.)  They do make fun of "the readers".  So, now you know why I read the article.  Pairing reading with the NBA was such an oxymoron that to me it was like putting Obama and Cheney in a room and asking  them to come up with a plan.  Any plan.... Here's the link for the whole article:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704140104575057521488502914.html   

5 Rules That Men Can Live By

To counterbalance the seriousness of my last blog:

Good advice from a friend. See below.
Five rules for men to follow for a happy life.

1. It's important to have a woman who helps at home, cooks from time to time, cleans up and has a job.

2. It's important to have a woman who can make you laugh.


3. It's important to have a woman who you can trust and who doesn't lie to you.

4. It's important to have a woman who is good in bed and who likes to be with you.

5. It's very, very important that these four women do not know each other.

Sincerely,

Tiger Woods

A Simple Explanation of What Happened with Brown/Coakley

My blog has moved to www.satisfyingmycuriosity.com.  If you've enjoyed this blog, please check my new site out for other interesting comments on culture, travel, book reviews, and music.


"It is to me a new and consolatory proof that wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." Thomas Jefferson Jan. 8, 1789

"The people" really began to pay attention when the Senate Nebraska and Louisiana deals were cut and the unions given a special deal with health care taxes. And with everybody in congress hiding behind closed doors working on a deal, no wonder the American people became suspicious. This is why it is so imperative for "the people" to stay informed and vote with knowledge and not emotion.



One last thing. Don't bash pickem up trucks and those that drive them. We, "the people", coughed up good money to help those manufacturers survive. The democrat elite made it sound like only hay seed chewing, ignorant yahoos drive pick up trucks. Try to explain that to my MBA educated Fortune 500 retired executive friends who proudly drive their Ford 150's back and forth to Hilton Head or Florida to their 3rd or 4th homes...

If You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It.

It's hard to top Yogi Berra when it comes to mixed metaphors. Another fun one is, "a nickle ain't worth a dime no more." Tell me about it Yogi.  Yogi did get me to thinking. I want to write about the proverbial "fork in the road".  Over the holidays we decided to take all of our old home videos and put them on Dvd's. I drove over to the little store that had done this for me in the past...closed. I drove to buy a little gift for a sick friend..the gift store...closed. Closed closed closed. These poor folks have, like Yogi suggested, come to a fork in the road and they had to take it. One direction...close. The other direction...close. This led me to ask my husband and my daughter about our "forks in the road." My daughter hasn't quite had to make those kinds of decisions, yet. But my husband and I surely have. We're talking major decisions that have a dramatic impact on your life. There's a line in one of the songs in the new movie Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges (I will admit right now that I love Jeff Bridges) in which the main character sings something like this, I took a bad turn in the road and then every turn was bad bad bad. Read more...

Of Pork Bellies and Lardon

I am an avid watcher of Anthony Bourdain  on the travel channel (Update...1/27/14...He's now on CNN). He amazes me by what he eats. He had a wrap up show not too long ago where he asked viewers to send in questions in print or in video form about his culinary adventures. One viewer asked," what is the one thing you ate that made you really really sick?" If you saw one of his trips to Africa, I think it was Namibia, he goes out with cow herders and they cook, well there's no other way to describe it, a cow's ass in ashes. He said he got a bacterial infection of the intestine that left him sick for a long time. 

Now, I'm a somewhat adventurous eater. I've eaten a 100 year old egg in the "new territories" outside of Hong Kong, drank squid ink in Tokyo, eaten with dismay the Venetian speciality of cuttle fish (leaves your mouth black), and fried grasshoppers in  London. So, when I sit down and look at a menu, I try to look at it with an open mind. My daughter and I decided to treat ourselves to a post shopping lunch at Tom Colicchio's Craftbar. If you're a follower of Top Chef then you know of Tom Colicchio. If not, he is one of the top restaurateurs in the US with a minimum of 8 restaurants throughout the country. Plus, he's the top judge on Top Chef. By watching Top Chef and Bourdain you become very familiar with edibles you normally wouldn't touch. Now, I grew up on a ranch in south Texas (I probably already mentioned that) and when my dad killed a calf, it was butchered, then different cuts separately wrapped and frozen. We'd eat the whole thing. Except my mom didn't cook up some beef cheeks or roast up some bones so we could suck out the bone marrow. And that is what you eat at today's top restaurants. So, me being me, here's what I ordered: roasted bone marrow with grilled olive oil brushed peasant bread, then pork belly, apple, curry, maple syrup and served with pickled veggies and a beautiful golden beet/red beet pear salad with blue cheese. My daughter played it safer with an arugula, Parmesan, pine nut salad in a lemon vinaigrette, grilled oysters, herb butter, bacon, and spinach and a wonderful Tuscan inspired white beans, prosciutto, and cabbage soup. OK, you might ask, what is bone marrow and as you ask you might add an oh yuck. It is literally a bone that has been roasted with the "marrow" left in side (it is the flexible tissue inside the bone). You put it on bread like butter. It's served with a teeny tiny spoon to extract the marrow. Bourdain sucks it right out. Would I order it again? No. There wasn't enough there to get a really good sense of the flavor. What is a "pork belly", Hairball? It literally is the belly of a pig. It's the part of the pig, at least here in the US, where we get our bacon. It was fried girls and boys. You have a layer of pork and then a layer of fat, pork, fat, pork, fat. Oh my goodness. I heard my arteries clog. One big fat piece of bacon. Fried. We didn't stop there, oh gentle readers. We had 'smores and butterscotch pudding. And, of course, wine was imbibed (only one glass, I was driving). It was a delicious meal but mine was so rich. I'd order the pork belly again if someone would share it with me. The oysters were delicious. The beets I'd eat forever. Everything was incredible. It set me back a few $$$ but was well worth the adventure.

Oh, and about lardo, it's Mario Batali's favorite ingredient.  It's the layer of fat found between the skin of the pig and the meat. Cholesterol check anyone? Oh, and if there's ever "beef cheeks" on the menu, order them. They are so succulent and moist. On to pig cheeks and fish cheeks and....

A Safeway Gift Certificate

Back in the late 80's I moved from Austin to Arlington, TX. It was for a great job opportunity but also had the double benefit of the job being in the same city as my boyfriend. I made the move and my guy (later my hubby) comes over to give me a housewarming gift. Auuhhh how sweet. A gift certificate to Safeway. That's very practical. He thought I could use it to buy cleaning supplies. Was he trying to IMPLY something? OOOkkk. After we got married, for my birthday, he gave me 50 clothing hangers. Now, they were the padded scented ones. The guys out there are saying, hey what's wrong with that. Apparently you needed them. Was he trying to IMPLY that I didn't hang up my clothes? Read more...

Groovin' on a Sunday Afternoon...

My blog is about Groovin' On A Sunday Afternoon because I'm bored out of my gourd on this post Thanksgiving Saturday. I'm watching on Georgia PBS Ed Sullivan and rock and roll of the 60's. I remember watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and my dad ranting about their hair. Listening to it now, I must say, the Beatles were really bad. But they have said that in those early days, pre earbuds, because of the screaming, they could barely hear themselves sing. Good Vibrations is on right now. Just look at the top 25 songs of the 60's:   Read more...

Love Jeopardy? Here are Some Factoids for You

1. More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska ..

2. The Amazon rain forest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.

3. The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States ...

4. Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.

5. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica .. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert. Read more...

Should I Wear Panty Hose?

The panty hose...the torture device created by a man. Really? Yes, really. Why am I contemplating the essence of panty hose when Iran has now announced they've got another nuclear facility? Because I'm still thinking about my Russia trip and the fact that all of those beautiful women over there had on panty hose.

I haven't put on a pair in years(Think about it. Why would you still call them a pair? ) Now you can get panty hose that go from the tip of your toe practically to your neck i.e. Spanx. So, I began my musings by wondering about the creation of these delicate beauty enhancers. Here's the story behind panty hose (from the Smithsonian): 

"The year was 1953 and if you were a woman, a night on the town meant either squeezing into a girdle or slipping on a garter belt. Formal dress dictated that females wear such intimate, and often uncomfortable, articles of clothing. How else could you hold up your nylons? Allen Gant Sr., then running textile company Glen Raven Mills, was inspired by his wife’s lament. “How would it be if we made a pair of panties and fastened the stockings to it?” he asked Ethel. She stitched some crude garments together, tried them on, and handed the products to her husband. “You got to figure out how to do this,” she said. Allen brought his wife’s experiment into the office, and with the help of his colleagues Arthur Rogers, J. O. Austin, and Irvin Combs, developed what they later called “Panti-Legs.” Their product—the world’s first commercial pantyhose—began lining department store shelves in 1959. “It was wonderful,” a 74-year-old Ethel Gant told the Associated Press 30 years later. “Most people my age loved them from the very beginning and couldn’t wait to get a hold of them. I don’t think we’ve ever changed our minds,” she said. Allen Gant Sr. had at least one satisfied customer, but the panty-stocking combo did not grab most women’s attentions at first. Though the convenience of not having to wear a girdle or garter belt was a plus, what helped pantyhose take hold was the rise of the miniskirt in the mid-1960s. For the fashion-conscious woman looking to wear a skirt shorter than stockings are long, pantyhose were the perfect fit. When iconic models such as Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy donned their mini skirts, demand for pantyhose exploded and women flocked to the stores for pairs of their own.  

By the 1970s and 1980s, pantyhose were a staple in every teen and woman’s wardrobe. As more women headed into the workplace, sales of pantyhose only grew. In return, hosiery manufacturers continued to market new colors, textures, sizes and technology. “The silkiest ever,” teased one Hanes advertisement. “No one knows I’m wearing support pantyhose,” declared another.

Those glory days came to an end in the 1990s, a shift that Hosiery Association President Sally Kay attributes to a more relaxed work environment. “You saw the fashion pendulum swing more towards the casual,” she says. The industry witnessed a decline in pantyhose sales, and an increase in other products, such as tights and—with the rise of pants in the workplace—trouser socks.

Today, many women no longer feel pressured to don hosiery at all. First Lady Michelle Obama, considered a fashion trendsetter, has placed the garment in the retired pile. “I stopped wearing pantyhose a long time ago because it was painful. Put ‘em on, rip ‘em—it’s inconvenient,” she said on talk show, The View, last year. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology is also not a fan. “It does not look good for pantyhose,” she says, “The long term trend is for people to dress more and more casually.”

Though numbers are down, with 1.4 billion pairs of pantyhose sold in 2008, it does not appear that pantyhose will go extinct anytime soon. For women in more conservative work environments, pantyhose are still a must. Some others still prefer the more traditional option. “Today’s consumer envisions hosiery as more of an accessory,” Kay explains.

Although Allen Gant Jr. doesn’t distribute pantyhose through Glen Raven Mills, his father’s legacy remains. “I don’t think he had any idea pantyhose would change fashion the way it did,” Gant Jr. says. From the runway, to the office, and now stored away in women’s dresser drawers, the garment has gone through several life cycles. But that’s the order of things in the industry. As designer Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is made to become unfashionable.” 

So, there's your history. I started asking some of my girlfriends if they still wore hose and most said "not in years" unless you're going to a wedding or live in a cold part of the country. Put your one foot in then the other foot, pull them up around your knees, stand up and try not to fall over, don't let your nails rip a hole in one, suck that stomach in for the appropriate muffin top, unless of course you've got on Spanx to the bosom line, pull, tug, wiggle, uh oh, wrong size. The crotch is still at the knees!!! 

Math: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

I am not a math genius. My math teacher in high school just wanted me to add and subtract even though I was in an advanced math class. There were two girls in my class. One was a math genius and the other was me. We're talking the 1960's here folks. Just the beginning of the women's revolution and the Natl Organization of Women. The math teacher, God rest his soul, did me no favors. During exams he would have this other girl and me grade the papers of the guys and in return, not have to take the test. He always gave us A's. At the time, I thought, how sweet is this...Not now. The students of the United States always rank behind other countries in math proficiency scores. I previously wrote a scathing blog on the Dems wanting to cut back on Charter Schools. It now seems PreBo has finally come around and will support Charter Schools. Hurrah for you Mr. President! The Washington Post: "The disappointing performance of U.S. teenagers in math and science on an international exam, in scores released yesterday, has sparked calls for improvement in public schools to help the country keep pace in the global economy.

The scores from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment showed that U.S. 15-year-olds trailed their peers from many industrialized countries. The average science score of U.S. students lagged behind those in 16 of 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based group that represents the world's richest countries. The U.S. students were further behind in math, trailing counterparts in 23 countries."

Here's something that I found on the internet to try to make heads or tails of this dilemma. The story is as follows:

Last week I (not me but a fictional person) purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there , holding the nickel and 3 pennies , while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters , but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her , she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?
2. Teaching Math In 1960s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990s A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying , it's ok.)
6. Teaching Math In 2009 Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

Anybody out there remember the slide rule?!

блокада Ленинграда: The Siege of Leningrad and Other Observations About Visiting Russia

No, your computer doesn't have a virus. The above is "the siege of Leningrad" in the cyrillic alphabet of Russia. When traveling in western Europe, where most of the languages are based on Latin, you can pretty much figure something out. Not in Russia baby. Here's what I learned/experienced on our trip:

* After visiting Peterhof (the place built by Peter the Great to emulate Versailles)

, Catherine the Great's palace and The Armory (it houses all of the jewels, gowns, carriages of the Tsars) and learning of the serf system they had set up, there is no wonder there was a revolution which toppled the Tsar system. After having been to Versailles and knowing what I know about the French kings, no surprise about a revolution there either.

* Much of what you learn on your tours revolves around either Tsarist history or WWII. There are monuments all over both St. Petersburg and Moscow honoring their war dead and the great achievement of the "red" army.

* "Red" in Russia signifies beauty.

* The siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) by the Germans lasted 872 days with 1 1/2 million people and soldiers perishing. After all the birds, rats and pets had been eaten, there were stories of cannibalism. 27 million Russians died during the war.   Read more...

Greetings from Yaroslavl, Russia!

Some interesting facts I've learned about Russka. The birth rate is 11.6 per 1000, the death rate 16.5 per 1000. Women live to, on average, be 73 while the men? Just 59 is the average age.

I guess too much vodka and cigs. Another thing that has fascinated me is that the majority of what they take us to see are monastaries, churches and convents.

Most of which are under renovation. During communism, as you know, religion was banned. But apparently the "workers' of the country never abandoned it. Yesterday, we had to wait 3 hours for fog to lift before we could continue down the river.

What did we miss? Another monastary. Today, the countryside is dotted with numerous onion domes of churches. As far as the ship, we are disappointed. The ship is older and needs renovation. The food is not very good and the choices are limited. Yesterday we had a true Russian tea which basically is tead made in a samovar and lots of pastries with Russian fold music. We have asked other passengers if this is the standard for Viking and they say it is not. The other ships have TV's in the rooms, workout rooms etc. Let me just say that I am the youngest person on board. Drank all of our vodka and have got to find another store to get more. Hope all is well and the weather beautiful. The weather here is gorgeous!

Hello From Goritzy Russia!

Vinnie is about ready to throw himself overboard! The ship has no TV, Internet connections take long minutes and there are people knitting and playing mahjong. Actually, we saw an unbelievable wooden church on the island of Kizhi yesterday. The spires are all wooden.

A very peaceful and pastoral scene. We will be traveling from now on up a canal system and we went thru 8 locks last night. The scenery reminds me of the Northwest. Read more...

Hello from St. Petersburg, Russia!

We are here in St. Petersburg and I just went to buy some vodka, surprise, and almost got in to it with the proprietor. She wanted to charge me 2 rubles for a bag to put the vodka in. She was RUDE. Well, that's less than 2 cents...ah, I guess I gave her the two rubles..Didn't want to get thrown in the gulag!

St. Petesburg is very beautiful and very clean. One thing we noted...remember the Beatles in Back in the USSR where the Urikraine girls really knock me out? The women here, at least the young ones, are very very good looking. Thin, long legs,  mostly long blond hair. What's interesting is that there are so many weddings in the middle of the week. Lots of white dresses, limos and tuxs. But it seems that as the Russian women get older, babuskas all.

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