Gene Simmons Doesn't Mind Being Patriotic

Not all of Hollywood thinks its cool to redefine patriotism as undermining the military and bad mouthing the administration at every turn.

Gene Simmons is unapologetically patriotic and supportive of the military.

Gene Simmons - Video

Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorneys

If you find yourself in need of an attorney and are in Southern California, you might do well to look up the law firm of Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP.

Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorneys | California Felony and Misdemeanor Defense Lawyers are among the best. They are rated in the top 5% of U.S. law firms by Martindale-Hubbell. They have more than 50 years of experience with excellent track records in criminal defense in part due to their previous experience as prosecutors.

They are available 24/7 at (877) 781-1570.

German Couple Try to Sell Their Baby on eBay

I don't even know what to say about this! I think that if they were seriously trying to sell their baby they would have surely offered to sell him for $5 instead of a buck-fifty ... but what do I know. We all get frustrated when our babies are little ... you know, lack of sleep and dirty diapers get old pretty quickly. But usually if we joke about selling the baby we are really just joking. At least we would think better of it by the time we got to the computer and actually went through the process of posting an offer to sell the child.

I would say they just can't be that bright, but they are bright enough to use the computer. I'm glad the State took the baby away.

Gifts for Any Occasion Online

Shopping online is great, especially when you can get what you need at better prices than you can find by trudging around to every store in town. I'm attending a wedding this weekend. I needed to find a great gift but didn't have time to go all over town. I clicked over to Best Online Coupons and was able to shop at the best stores online, with coupons, all from one website. You can find terrific gifts for any occasion online. They have set up a website that offers discounts and coupons with some well known and reputable merchants.

They have discount coupons for merchants like Sharper Image, Things Remembered, The Vermont Country Store, just to name a few. When you go to the website you will find there are plenty more to browse though.

BestOnlineCoupons.com also offers smart bargains coupons that make the deals you find there even better!

BestOnlineCoupons.com does the shopping leg work for you. They work at keeping the best coupons for quality products up to date so you can find them all in one place. All you have to do is click through to her website to find great online coupon shopping deals. They have them there waiting for you!

Dead Woman Comes Back to Life

Dead Woman Comes Back to Life - Video

Val Thomas had several heart attacks and had no life signs for 17 1/2 hours, rigor mortis had set in and the family was discussing organ donation. The organ donation issue is why she's alive now. She was kept on a respirator even though she had not had any brain wave activity for hours. She was put on other machines as well to keep her organs healthy while the organ donation process continued.

It wasn't until the nurses started removing her from the oxygen that she came back to life. She has no heart blockage and appears she's going to be just fine.

Woah! Bet that freaked some people out!

Guide to Web Hosting Sites

If you are in the market for web hosting you might want to check out Web Hosting Choice ( webhostingchoice.com ). I know that I get confused about what different web hosts offer. I look at this one and that one trying to figure out which one is the better deal. Web Hosting Choice does the comparison shopping for you. That just makes it so much easier!

They compare all the elements you need to know about in order to make a good decision about which hosting service is right for your needs. For instance, get comparisons of bandwidth offers, hosting prices versus services offered and much more. They even give you a review of scams to be on the look out for.

If you are looking for a web hosting service you can make it easy on yourself and use Web Hosting Choice to help you decide which service is right for your needs.

Lost Season 4 Finale - There's No Place Like Home

I have come to accept that the writers, producers, directors and actors of Lost are sadists. The teasers, cliffhangers, twists and turns are endless and excruciating. At the same time, you don't really want it all to end, which probably means that those of us who watch it are masochists. Now they are making us wait another week for the 'evening of Lost' that will be the season 4 finale.

Last week's episode left us with some understanding of how the various people who end up as the Oceanic 6 came to be the ones to get off the island. It didn't seem like some of them to have gone ahead of others, so how did that happen? Jack, for instance, it wouldn't be like him to get on a rescue boat before the others. Last week it started making sense. Different ones in different places all being lead to the same end.

I've read some spoilers, but I've heard false spoilers have been leaked on purpose to keep the surprises coming. I guess we'll find out. I'll not include the spoilers here - you can find them online if you want to know.

Lost Season 4 Finale - Video

Excellent Cheap Web Hosting!

Choosing web hosting can be a little mind boggling. There are so many choices and if you aren't all that computer savvy it can be very confusing. You have choices on how much bandwidth, storage space and terms like cgi and ftp. You really have to know a lot to be able to compare hosting services and see that you are getting the best service for your needs. Expensive services are not necessarily better services. The point is to get what you need at the best price you can.

You can get cheap web hosting that serves your needs without having to give yourself a major headache searching through websites and trying to compare all the different offerings. That's why it is so helpful to have a site like Web Hosting Rating where you can read articles about the various aspects of different types of services. In their articles on finding cheap web hosting they recommend reading testimonials of existing customers, understanding the effect of bad customers who might be sharing the same server (I've had personal experience with that!) and getting a good understanding of whether the hosting company will be able to serve your needs over the long term.

With web hosting, you can't judge the quality of a service by the price. Some of the best services out there are cheap. Just be sure you find a cheap hosting service that is also the best for your needs.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Davila is Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Cindy

Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Davila From Sierra Vista, Arizona

On the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States, Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Davila raised an American flag over Camp Korean Village, Iraq, he brought with him from Arizona.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, Sierra Vista firefighter and emergency medical technician Chris Davila presented that flag to Fire Chief Randy Redmond as fellow firefighters looked on. Monday, May 5, 2008, was Davila's first day back on the job with the department after being gone for nearly nine months, with seven of those months deployed as a Navy Reserve corpsman serving with a Marine unit near the Jordanian and Syrian border area in Iraq.

And, as luck would have it, on his first shift saw him responding to a blaze in Sierra Vista. "Right back to work," he said with a laugh.

You can read the rest of PO 2nd Class Davila's story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

IBackup Online Now Supports Mac and iPhone

IBackup Online is growing and improving the services they have to offer. They have recently included a version of their services that is built for Mac! They have also included enhancements making it easier for you to view and share your data view iPhone and other hand held devices! Now you can not only be sure that your data is securely backed up, but you can access it easily from multiple types of devices.

I've lost my information twice and really value the ability to back up online. Both times it was work related and both times the entire contents of my financial program was lost. It was not a small matter. In both incidents it had to do with lightening storms and it took us months to reenter data that was lost.

After the first time I started looking into an Online Backup system but never followed through. I followed through immediately the second time. I learned my lesson about the importance of data backup. Online Storage is great because it is off site and no affected by whatever happens to your home or work computer.

IBackup Online offers very user friendly interface with storage features where users online data appear as a mapped drive or folder on their desktop. Working with data online couldn’t be easier, with drag-n-drop features and a familiar explorer interface. This feature is not offered by any other online storage service with the kind of performance and security that IBackup offers.

Performance difference is very significant in many cases where IBackup’s desktop applications outperform the rest by a factor of at least 30-50%. This could mean significant productivity gain.

The IBackup Online website very easy to navigate and gives thorough and easy to understand explanations of the services offered. They offer packages from 5 to 300 gigs of storage. That would cover the needs of individuals or businesses needing Online Storage. They have plenty of methods to get in touch with support technicians 24/7 (that’s always an important feature of any program for me!).

It looks like a top-notch online backup and storage solution.

My Great Kids!

I have the best kids in the world. Within about 30 minutes of getting up this yesterday morning a guy came to the door with a nice vase full of yellow tulips. I love tulips. I knew they weren't from my husband, because I know my husband! Low and behold, they were from my dear Soldier Son and his new bride.

Then about 30 minutes later I got another delivery. This time it was a gorgeous azalea bush! I love azaleas! I have them all over my yard. The azalea was from my sweet darling daughter.

I hardly ever see my kids any more, but they are really the best. I love them dearly and they certainly made my Mother's Day wonderful!

I Love Ceiling Fans

I have Ceiling fans in every room of my house, literally. I even have Outdoor Ceiling Fans. The ceiling fan on our screened in back porch is especially nice. When its hot outside we can turn on that fan and sit on the porch in comfort in spite of the heat. It gives off a nice gentle breeze that makes the porch just perfect.

The people who lived here before us put them all in, but I'm glad they did. I really like them. I can turn off the air conditioner and run the fans and they keep a nice cool breeze going ... as long as its not too hot outside. I especially like sleeping with the ceiling fan running in my bedroom. I don't know why, but its soothing.

A few of the fans need replacing. Actually, they are still working fine, I just want to update them. They've been up forever. I was looking around online and found some great deals. I found a Minka Ceiling Fan for a fantastic price! I have priced them in local stores and the ones at CeilingFanWarehouse.com have prices that just 'blow you away'.

Check out their inventory and their prices. I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised.

David Archuleta Dad Kicked off American Idol

David Archuleta

Usually we read about contestants getting kicked off American Idol, but this time its a parent. Jeff Archuleta, the father of David Archuleta, has been denied his backstage pass on American Idol. The reason for him being kicked out of the set is basically that he's a royal pain in the ass.

Predictably, Jeff Archuleta denies he did anything he's rumored to have done.

"I'm definitely involved with my son, and I encourage him, but I think that's a lot different from forcing and threatening and all that stuff. There was absolutely no truth in any of the stories about me yelling at David, making him cry or withholding water from him. That was crazy!" Jeff Archuleta was quoted later, denying his American Idol backstage privileges have been take away. Fox has not commented on the incident yet. Old stories about David Archuleta and his dad have begun popping up, most notably when Jeff Archuleta was called "the monster dad from hell" by Naomi Judd, who was a judge on "Star Search", where the then 12-year-old David took part.

Parents really need to get their own lives so their kids can live their own lives. Its really as simple as that.

David Archuleta - Video

Its Time to Get Personal!

I've gotten to where I don't buy cards for special occasions nearly as much as I used to. For one thing, it takes me forever to pick one out. They never say what I want them to say or the picture doesn't fit the situation. I just never can find the right combination. For another thing, they are expensive. They are also generic out of necessity. I mean, they have to fit a lot of people, right? Then you take the card you have so carefully chosen and whoever gets it skims over it really quickly and tosses it aside. The whole process is much ado about nothing.

Well, its difficult to give a gift without a card so I started making my own. I still do that for very special occasions or people. I have found some very nice cards online. They are the best of everything for me. They are personal without being overly time consuming or expensive. You can buy them in bulk so that you have them ready when you need them. Most cards you buy at your local store are going to cost you about $4. At Card Direct you can get cards for $1.50 and $2. As you can tell from the card pictured in this post, they are very nice looking, good quality cards.

You can get cards made to order at Cards Direct, combining their quality cards and covers with your own photos to create something that's as special as the gift you are giving. How nice to create your own unique birthday cards! Or what about a creative Christmas card? The personal cards I have received mean so much more to me than the generic ho-ho-ho cards I get at Christmas or the birthday cake and candles cards I get on my birthday.

Cards Direct has a large line of cards for just about any occasion you can think of. They also offer the same services for businesses. You can have customized cards printed up to announce new events at your business, or have birthday cards made up for valued customers. As you know, branding your business is important for marketing. With this service you can use your logo and brand on everything you send out.

The services there are quick and easy to use. Its personal and best of all the prices are great and you can do it all from right behind your computer.

Going out to Eat with Beloved Curmudgeon

As I write this, my Beloved Curmudgeon is watching one of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns. I don't know which one. Does it matter? They all have the same characters, are filmed in the same place and have the same music.

I am often blogging with any one of those movies playing in the background. Our lives are exciting that way.

We had some real excitement today. I'll tell you about it.

My Beloved Curmudgeon asked me on a date. He said, 'I haven't had a good steak in a long time, wanna go get one for lunch?'. My heart fluttered at the romance of it and I said that yes, I would like to do that! This conversation transpired first thing this morning, so I had a while to get my mouth set for a good juicy red steak. By lunch time I was definitely hungry and very much wanting a steak.

We drove past one steak house to go to another on the other side of town. That was okay, I like them both. Unfortunately, when we got to the other steakhouse, it was closed. It's only open for dinner. My Beloved Curmudgeon said we shouldn't drive all the way back across town, why don't we just go to IHOP that is right next door to the closed steak house.

I really wanted a steak, but being a good co-dependent type person I said that would be okay. I said, 'IHOP is okay' in my most pathetic tone that should have told him I really wanted to go get a steak. He didn't read my mind and pulled into the IHOP parking lot. A slight chip started creeping up on my shoulder, but I pushed it back down telling myself that it was silly. We'll go get a steak next time.

Being hungry and having had myself all ready for a steak, nothing looked good on the menu at IHOP. I even commented that they had steaks and eggs, but it just wouldn't be the same at IHOP. He still didn't catch on to my mood. He ordered a large breakfast and I ordered pecan pancakes (my mother will disapprove of that - but I did, okay!). When one is in the midst of unsuccessfully putting a guilt trip on one's spouse (unintentionally, of course) one shouldn't order anything of real substance to eat.

A few minutes later the waitress comes out with a huge steaming plate of eggs, bacon and all the trimmings for my Beloved Curmudgeon and little bitty plate with two half-dollar size plain dry pancakes for me. I really hate sending food back, but I looked at that plate and the bite size pancakes just weren't cutting it. I was so hungry.

I sent the pancakes back asking for the pecan pancakes I had actually ordered. The waitress returned in record time and proudly placed in front of me the very same plate with the very same half-dollar size pancakes on it. But now, they had a scattering of pecan pieces tossed on top of them. She didn't hang around long enough for me to send them back this time.

I was dumbfounded and looked at the dry, bite-size pancakes with pecan chips thrown on top and the chip I had been forcing down from my shoulder snuck right back up on it again. I got a little butter packet and made a half-hearted attempt to spread some butter on the now cold little bitty pancakes. The butter just rolled the few pecan chips around on the pancakes. They were getting less appetizing by the second.

My Beloved Curmudgeon noticed I was not a happy camper and asked if I wanted him to handle this. I demurred and he told me to quit being a victim, that he'd take care of it for me if I didn't want to. I demurred again, but was glad to let him be the bad guy this time.

He got the waitress over and asked her about the pancakes. 'We are out of pancake batter,' she explained. She went further and said the cooks should have told her. It wasn't her fault, she said - weakly. My Beloved Curmudgeon said, 'This is the International House of PANCAKES, right? And you don't have PANCAKE batter?'. She said they had pancake batter for anything BUT pecan pancakes.

I asked her for a menu again and I'd just order something else. By this time my Beloved Curmudgeon was finishing his meal and that chip was virtually dancing around on my shoulder as I flipped the pages of the menu without really reading it.

I tossed the menu in the middle of the table and said I'd fix something when we got home. He suggested we stop at a deli we like on the way home. I liked that idea and said we'd do that. We left IHOP and headed to the deli.

I ordered a chicken salad sandwich with walnuts and he decided to get an egg salad sandwich. I know, I know, he'd already eaten. We ran into friends and talked. All of this took a while. We finally got home and I sat the sandwiches down in the kitchen and went to change clothes and wash my hands.

I was REALLY REALLY hungry by the time I came back into the family room with my sandwich box in hand. My Beloved Curmudgeon was eating his sandwich and making a face. I asked him if he didn't like his sandwich.

'It's got nuts in it', he said with a disgusted look on his face. He then went on to complain about che-che delis putting all the extra stuff on when all you want is a plain egg salad sandwich on white bread. I was sympathetic and told him I was sorry he didn't like his sandwich. We actually discussed this for a few minutes with me sitting and holding my little sandwich box still unopened.

I opened my sandwich box looking forward to my chicken salad with walnuts, lettuce and tomato on wheat bread. As soon as I opened the box I realized I had a plain egg salad on white bread.

'Stop!! You're eating my sandwich!!!', I exclaimed.

He stopped in mid-chew and mid-puzzlement over the odd taste of his egg salad and held out the mostly eaten remains of MY chicken salad sandwich. 'Here.' He held it out to me in such a pitiful manner I burst out laughing.

'No wonder it tasted so strange', he said.

I flipped the chip off my shoulder and gladly ate the last few bites of my sandwich while he ate his egg salad sandwich. It hit the spot.

For the rest of the day he mentioned how full he was and I'm still hungry.

Beautiful Grandfather Clocks

I had no idea that there are so many types and styles of grandfather clocks. I was reading about the huge selection of clocks you can find online. Its great that we can do so much of our shopping online, even for items as specialized as a grandfather clock.

Reading about that inspired me to go and look at 1-800-4Clocks and check out their Grandfather Clocks. Home decor is part of your personal fashion. I usually lean towards more contemporary or deco designs so I didn't expect to find much I'd like. I had a certain image in my mind of what a grandfather clock looks like. You know, the ones we've seen in everybody's house since we were kids. Interestingly, they aren't all like that. In fact, there are tons of designs that would fit anyone's personal style and preference!

I like the Kieninger Edwards Grandfather Clock pictured here. It is part of their Kieninger collection. Its sleek, modern, versatile in style and just fabulous! I can picture it in my living room as a focal point when someone walks into the room.

That's just one of many beautiful grandfather clocks you can view at 1-800-4Clocks.

This is just one grandfather clock in a huge selection of beautiful clocks of all kinds. You can shop by brand or type of clock. Their inventory includes wall clocks, mantle clocks. It also includes Howard Miller clocks, Bulova Clocks, Ridgeway Clocks, Kieninger Clocks, Seth Thomas Clocks.

There is something for everyone.

Hancock Movie Trailer (video)

The new Hancock movie trailer premiered exclusively on American Idol on Wednesday night. See it below.

Hancock Movie Trailer (Video)

Columbia Pictures premiered an exclusive new Hancock movie trailer on last week's American Idol. Hancock is obviously not your ordinary superhero. He's fallen on hard times and the public isn't that fond of him anymore. Let's just say, Hancock is not your ordinary superhero!

The Peter Berg film stars Will Smith as the superhero. He has a public relations person (Jason Bateman) helping him repair his image. Hancock's PR person's wife (Charlize Theron) complicates things for Hancock and his image repair.

Well, just watch the trailer, then go see the movie and let me know what you think.

Outsource your Answering Service

Right now you can get a free 7-day trial to see if an online Answering Service is right for you or your business. Map Communications has been an industry leader in providing quality professional Answering Services since 1991. Their specialty is being able to adjust their services to a broad range of industry needs. In other words, whether you are a small business, professional group, government offices or many other types of businesses, Map Communications can handle your specific needs. They customize their dynamic and proprietary answering services to meet a variety of different business needs. You can get basic answering service to a complex call center. It just depends on what your needs are. Some of the custom features offered include:

• Fastest Pick-Up Times in the Industry
• Professional & Courteous Receptionists
• Specialized Call Screening
• Emergency Response Specialists
• Your Own Nationwide 800 number
• Voicemail Services
• Proprietary Software & In-house IT Dept
• Custom Account & Software Design
• Dynamic Online Account Access
• Interface with your Company Website
• Advanced On-Call Roster Services
• Online Messaging via the Web or Email

That’s just a few of their services. It is often beneficial to out-source this type of service as opposed to having to take on the responsibility of additional employees and all of the expenses that come with that. While Map Communication is offering a free trial period, it seems like a good time to try it out and see if it works for you.

Battle At Kruger

The Battle At Kruger is an internet sensation. See the video below.

Battle At Kruger

If you aren't one of the 30 million people who have viewed the Battle At Kruger video on YouTube then you can see it here. Its been on YouTube for over a year and now the two men who filmed the battle are the subject of a new documentary that will be premiering Sunday, May 11th on the National Geographic Channel.

The video was shot at Transport Dam in South Africa's Kruger National Park. It was filmed in 2004 by videographer David "Buzz" Budzinski and photographer Jason Schlosberg who watched as a pack of lions gathered on one side of the watering hole and a herd of buffalo were grazing on the other side. The video shows the outcome of the battle over a baby buffalo is captured and fought over by lions and crocodiles. The buffalo eventually fight off the predators and rescue the baby buffalo.

Its a rare opportunity for us to experience nature vicariously through the lens of YouTube!

Enjoy!

Help Fight Lupus

Lupus is one of those illnesses that not too many people know much about. I have a cousin who has Lupus and because of that I learned something about the disease.

May is Lupus awareness month, so I thought I'd read a little about what is going on as far as Lupus research, etc. I found that there is an online community that is working to raise money online for lupus research and lupus patients.

The primary website is Firstgiving. The Firstgiving organization is a for-profit company that helps people set up websites to raise money for any United States registered nonprofit organization. All you have to do is sign up through the Firstgiving website and you are good to go. Registration is quick and easy to do.

I looked through some of the sites that have been set up through Firstgiving for Lupus awareness. I was very impressed with how well so many of them are doing! Take a look at http://www.firstgiving.com/reginadoran, for instance. She is just a couple of hundred dollars from her goal. She's raised an impressive amount of money. On her website she describes what she is trying to do and what the money she is raising will be used for. The people who donate can leave a message that appears on her site. Its very tastefully and well done.