Thursday, June 12, 2008
Mother and Baby
There is nothing I love more on this Earth than seeing a mother look at her baby for the first time. There is no poem, no short story, that can match a photo.
I don't know Marsha Griswold, but I used to work with her husband Matt who sent over this photo this morning.
(Told you all, if you send me photos and they touch me, I'm posting them on this site). :-)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Special Place in Hell
There's very little in life that disturbs me on such a level that I feel sick to my stomach and/or my sleep is disturbed.
I remember feeling that way on Sept. 11, 2001, as I shared a van ride home from Philadelphia with other media professionals from Penton Media in Cleveland.
Two things have happened this week, both in Oklahoma, that have caused this feeling in me.
For those of you who are news watchers, you likely have seen that two young Oklahoma girls were killed in cold blood in a town about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City.
Best friends, ages 11 and 13, were shot by two different guns as they were walking along a road that they were apparently used to walking. They were best friends out doing those things that best friends do, likely just walking and talking.
And someone, some evil asshole, shot them in cold blood.
This is when I wished that we could let the family and neighbors practice death by firing squad. It's not legal in Oklahoma, but it is in Utah.
The second incident doesn't involve humans, but it involves destruction of life and it's sickening though not on the level of killing two young human girls (but be warned, you may not want to read any further). I skipped the news story initially, but then I forced Dante to tell me about it.
There is a beautiful lake in Oklahoma City called Lake Hefner. It's man-made. On a beautiful day, you walk around Lake Hefner and you admire the sail boats and the parasailors and you enjoy the wildlife. The birds, the turtles, the dogs, etc.
Some idiot went through that park and pulled down nests of cliff swallows and stomped the babies to death. Officials found one baby bird alive out of 186 birds.
There is a special place in hell for this person. May you, whoever you are, never have another day of peace so long as you should walk this Earth.
I remember feeling that way on Sept. 11, 2001, as I shared a van ride home from Philadelphia with other media professionals from Penton Media in Cleveland.
Two things have happened this week, both in Oklahoma, that have caused this feeling in me.
For those of you who are news watchers, you likely have seen that two young Oklahoma girls were killed in cold blood in a town about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City.
Best friends, ages 11 and 13, were shot by two different guns as they were walking along a road that they were apparently used to walking. They were best friends out doing those things that best friends do, likely just walking and talking.
And someone, some evil asshole, shot them in cold blood.
This is when I wished that we could let the family and neighbors practice death by firing squad. It's not legal in Oklahoma, but it is in Utah.
The second incident doesn't involve humans, but it involves destruction of life and it's sickening though not on the level of killing two young human girls (but be warned, you may not want to read any further). I skipped the news story initially, but then I forced Dante to tell me about it.
There is a beautiful lake in Oklahoma City called Lake Hefner. It's man-made. On a beautiful day, you walk around Lake Hefner and you admire the sail boats and the parasailors and you enjoy the wildlife. The birds, the turtles, the dogs, etc.
Some idiot went through that park and pulled down nests of cliff swallows and stomped the babies to death. Officials found one baby bird alive out of 186 birds.
There is a special place in hell for this person. May you, whoever you are, never have another day of peace so long as you should walk this Earth.
Another Baby!
Congratulations to Matt and Marsha Griswold on the birth of their son who was born via C section at 8:24 p.m. this evening in Ohio.
The excited father texted me and said that the baby likely will be named Owen Matthew Griswold and he weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces.
Matt reports that the baby "is freaking beautiful."
The excited father texted me and said that the baby likely will be named Owen Matthew Griswold and he weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces.
Matt reports that the baby "is freaking beautiful."
The Hippie In Me
I've always told people I'm part Hippie. Quite frankly (as an aside) if I truly believed peace could live in the souls of all men and women, I would indeed be a pacifist.
But there's reality, and then there is my idealism that exists in the Hippie side of me.
Now, here is where you see it coming out. I urge you to check out a newly released CD called "One," put together by an instrumentalist named Jamshied Sharifi.
The CD is a compilation of worldwide voices, a wonderfully sensuous, ethereal mix that is as spiritually soothing as it is uplifting. He united voices from all over the world, inlcuding Paula Cole, Sussan Deyhim and Yungchen Lhamo.
The CD is sold through www.cdbaby.com, which is based out of Portland, Ore. CD Baby only sells music from independent musicians, and therefore the musicians get a nice, big slice of the money because it's not being filtered through a corporation.
So check it out. Even if you don't like One, CD Baby sells many other CDs you may never have discovered!
But there's reality, and then there is my idealism that exists in the Hippie side of me.
Now, here is where you see it coming out. I urge you to check out a newly released CD called "One," put together by an instrumentalist named Jamshied Sharifi.
The CD is a compilation of worldwide voices, a wonderfully sensuous, ethereal mix that is as spiritually soothing as it is uplifting. He united voices from all over the world, inlcuding Paula Cole, Sussan Deyhim and Yungchen Lhamo.
The CD is sold through www.cdbaby.com, which is based out of Portland, Ore. CD Baby only sells music from independent musicians, and therefore the musicians get a nice, big slice of the money because it's not being filtered through a corporation.
So check it out. Even if you don't like One, CD Baby sells many other CDs you may never have discovered!
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Case for Common Sense
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25002611/
By now, you've likely heard that foreclosures on homes are even impacting celebrities like Ed McMahon.
The irony of course is that McMahon spent years helping others win millions, and now a confluence of factors has affected his ability to pay his own mortgage.
But (how refreshing) McMahon isn't playing the blame game.
In an interview with Larry King, McMahon said poor planning on his own part led to his current situation. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the subprime mess that's sweeping the nation isn't a factor.
It is, of course.
But financial responsibility starts at home.
If you are living beyond your means, as McMahon confesses he did, it's only a matter of time before the math catches up with you. Pamela McMahon is alongside Ed, confessing that they could have done a better job handling their finances.
From a personal standpoint, we watched many of our friends buy homes that they just simply couldn't afford. Everybody was being approved. As a matter of fact, a friend who had no traceable income and was living on student loans was approved to buy a home. And that person did buy a home with a loan that was based on an adjustable interest rate.
There was something fundamentally wrong with this picture, and now we're seeing the fallout.
You know what you can afford. Be your own financial planner and the one who knows the most about your finances.
If you can't afford to own a home, there is no rush, trust me. Dante and I have been married for 10 years and we didn't buy a home until we had been married for seven years.
You have to live with the consquences of your own financial decisions. DON'T BE STUPID.
LIVE BY THE PERCENTAGE RULE
Don't agree to a payment on a house or apartment or condo that is 25 percent or more of your total household income.
FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE OTHER EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH HOME OWNERSHIP
Owning a house requires so much more than the mortgage payment; it's the upkeep; it's the homeowners' association annual fee if you happen to live in a neighborhood that has a homeowners' association; it's the lawn and landscape care, especially if you have to hire someone to come in and do the work for you.
It's the utilities, etc.
I can go on and on here; you have to do an analysis of the fixed and variable costs of home ownership. What are those costs that are stable month to month or what are the variable costs that will change depending on the season? Before you buy the property, ask the current owners to show you one year's history of utility bills.
Remember geography. The expense of home ownership varies by state, of course. In Oklahoma, we have to have annual pest inspections for pests like carpenter ants and termites.
KNOW YOUR HOME THE BEST, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE APPRAISAL IS TAKING PLACE
Show up. Ask questions. Be nosy. Moreover, be the expert on the property you are about to acquire.
KNOW YOUR OWN CREDIT SCORE AND HISTORY
If you know you deserve a better interest rate on your loan, negotiate for it. We're talking a 20 or 30 year mortgage where interest rate can mean everything.
DON'T FORGET FUTURE PLANNING
If you are buying a home based on two incomes (assuming your income and that of your wife/husband/partner), how long will your household be a two-income household?
That is, can you afford your mortgage if there is a job loss; you decide to have a baby and want to stay home; or if you decide or your significant other decides he or she wants to go back to school.
By now, you've likely heard that foreclosures on homes are even impacting celebrities like Ed McMahon.
The irony of course is that McMahon spent years helping others win millions, and now a confluence of factors has affected his ability to pay his own mortgage.
But (how refreshing) McMahon isn't playing the blame game.
In an interview with Larry King, McMahon said poor planning on his own part led to his current situation. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the subprime mess that's sweeping the nation isn't a factor.
It is, of course.
But financial responsibility starts at home.
If you are living beyond your means, as McMahon confesses he did, it's only a matter of time before the math catches up with you. Pamela McMahon is alongside Ed, confessing that they could have done a better job handling their finances.
From a personal standpoint, we watched many of our friends buy homes that they just simply couldn't afford. Everybody was being approved. As a matter of fact, a friend who had no traceable income and was living on student loans was approved to buy a home. And that person did buy a home with a loan that was based on an adjustable interest rate.
There was something fundamentally wrong with this picture, and now we're seeing the fallout.
You know what you can afford. Be your own financial planner and the one who knows the most about your finances.
If you can't afford to own a home, there is no rush, trust me. Dante and I have been married for 10 years and we didn't buy a home until we had been married for seven years.
You have to live with the consquences of your own financial decisions. DON'T BE STUPID.
LIVE BY THE PERCENTAGE RULE
Don't agree to a payment on a house or apartment or condo that is 25 percent or more of your total household income.
FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE OTHER EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH HOME OWNERSHIP
Owning a house requires so much more than the mortgage payment; it's the upkeep; it's the homeowners' association annual fee if you happen to live in a neighborhood that has a homeowners' association; it's the lawn and landscape care, especially if you have to hire someone to come in and do the work for you.
It's the utilities, etc.
I can go on and on here; you have to do an analysis of the fixed and variable costs of home ownership. What are those costs that are stable month to month or what are the variable costs that will change depending on the season? Before you buy the property, ask the current owners to show you one year's history of utility bills.
Remember geography. The expense of home ownership varies by state, of course. In Oklahoma, we have to have annual pest inspections for pests like carpenter ants and termites.
KNOW YOUR HOME THE BEST, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE APPRAISAL IS TAKING PLACE
Show up. Ask questions. Be nosy. Moreover, be the expert on the property you are about to acquire.
KNOW YOUR OWN CREDIT SCORE AND HISTORY
If you know you deserve a better interest rate on your loan, negotiate for it. We're talking a 20 or 30 year mortgage where interest rate can mean everything.
DON'T FORGET FUTURE PLANNING
If you are buying a home based on two incomes (assuming your income and that of your wife/husband/partner), how long will your household be a two-income household?
That is, can you afford your mortgage if there is a job loss; you decide to have a baby and want to stay home; or if you decide or your significant other decides he or she wants to go back to school.
When It's Embarrassing
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,363615,00.html
See what happens when there's a misspelling? Check this out.
Next lesson from me will be the difference between "its" and "it's" and the fact that "of" is not a replacement for "have" in a contraction such as "I would've completed my chores, but I had to correct all my misspelled words."
See what happens when there's a misspelling? Check this out.
Next lesson from me will be the difference between "its" and "it's" and the fact that "of" is not a replacement for "have" in a contraction such as "I would've completed my chores, but I had to correct all my misspelled words."
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