Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My Little Darling's Last Halloween
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Wedding
After that ceremony there was a gathering in the landing at the bottom of the stairs and then it was off in their chauffeured, decorated car with all of us following them in our respective cars, honking the horns and in general calling attention to them. We drove all over Beyreuth honking. Even in the cold weather, people came out on their balconies to wave and other cars honked as they passed us. It was actually fun.
Before they got into the castle, they had to cut through this heart. There were several of these hearts that stopped them along the way and each time they had to cut out the heart to go on. Josh apparently cut faster than Michi. By the time they were at the second heart, he just cut all the way around before she had cut her half very far.
Here are a few more pictures from the day ....
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Problems in France
Here's the thing. His wife of 12 years decided to up and leave him just weeks after he took office. Apparently, she went back to a former lover. He was so upset about her leaving that he had to be hospitalized briefly - but that was a state secret at the time. Well, no sooner did she move on to her former lover than he met a look-alike younger version of her and now he's 'besotted' as they say over there.
Everybody is worried.
His supporters are worried because he's not acting like himself. He's been a workaholic, but now he's daydreaming and canceling appointments and jetting off to exotic vacations with his model girlfriend, Carla Bruni. They are also concerned because its affecting his official duties. For instance, the Vatican wouldn't receive him because they don't receive the girlfriend of a world leader. They say he really needs a First Lady, but many question whether she's the right First Lady. You see, she's got quite the past.
Carla Bruni's nickname is 'maneater' if that gives you a clue. She's been known to break up marriages and date men like Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and Donald Trump. Plus, she's pretty high maintenance and seems to be leading the President around on a leash. The general consensus is that she will be the end of his career. Many seem to think its her resemblance to his former wife that has him so obsessed with her.
Its not that the French mind affairs.
What they mind is that they are so public. Sarkozy has stated he just won't hide his life from the public. The French find that appalling. They say its just not done. Affairs should be carried on in secret!
It is not at all what the French expect from their head of state. As one Paris-based friend of mine remarked, Sarkozy has "betrayed the national code of honour".
Despite its sybaritic image, France is a fundamentally provincial country which respects social order and prefers affairs to be secret - a situation helped by draconian privacy laws.
"Sarkozy has opened the curtains on a country which was happily eating cheese and climbing up the backstairs to visit mistresses," says my friend gloomily. "France likes hypocrisy. It does not like sexual openness. We are not Italy."
Sarkozy, of course, has a different interpretation. "I broke with a deplorable tradition in our country, that of hypocrisy and lies," he said yesterday.
"With Carla, we decided not to lie. We don't want to hide."
Some of Cecilia's assertions ....
Sarkozy is "ridiculous, badly behaved and not fit to be president" Cecilia Sarkozy says in a new book, adding for good measure that the women in his life are just a 'bunch of slappers' (or des petasses fardees, as the French would have it).
Even the president's female political colleagues do not escape her barbed tongue: they are just "boring wallflowers, and now that there is no First Lady, he needs to surround himself with pretty young things dressed in Dior".
Hmmm .... nasty, nasty. Pass the milk! Stay tuned ... I'll keep you updated when I find out what the next chapter of this soap opera is. C'est la vie!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
They Also Serve
Tribute to military families. The magic for me in making this video was featuring real military families. They are the true stars of this video. Produced & Directed by John Donegan Productions.
I developed and wrote the treatment (the script) and cast, directed, shot and edited the video. My script received Pentagon approval to shoot with the 101st Airborne at Ft. Campbell and the music video actually premiered in a theater there for the troops before being broadcast on TV. It now can be viewed in almost 200 countries on Armed Forces TV.
Al-Qaeda Threatens Mavis Leno
Mavis Leno's wrongdoing? She has worked to help the women of Afghanistan who have suffered under the Taliban. He threatens the First Lady for the same reason.
He says we are in a fight to the death with islam. Once again, the islamist tell us what their intentions are. Once again they tell us that they intend to kill us all and that they view this as a global war with their ideology. Once again, we don't listen.
WorldNetDaily
The American leader of al-Qaida lashed out at the wife of late-night talk show host Jay Leno in a newly released video-taped message warning fellow Americans of coming "punishment."
Al-Qaida propaganda chief Adam Gadahn, aka. "Azzam the American," singled Mavis Leno out for rebuke for her feminist views and criticism of the misogynistic brutality of the Taliban. He also heaped scorn on first lady Laura Bush, suggesting they are both hypocrites.
"Doesn't it seem strange to you that Mrs. Jay Leno and Mrs. George W. Bush ... have failed to express their outrage at this criminal misogynistic behavior which your government and its allies are engaged in and encouraging in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia?" Gadahn said, according to a transcription and translation of the 50-minute screed, spoken in Arabic and English.
Leno has been honored by feminist organizations for working to help the oppressed women of Afghanistan. She was one of the first celebrities to draw attention to their brutal treatment under the ousted Taliban regime.
Gadahn, who is wanted by the FBI for treason, claims U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq are handing over control of parts of the country to Shiite militias who are more brutal than the Taliban, targeting women for gang rape and assassination.
He says they "specialize in sidewalk murders of allegedly immoral women," and their "track record is no better when it comes to their treatment of women." Al-Qaida is comprised of Sunni Muslims.
"Doesn't it seem as though your angry celebrity female activists only spring into action when their campaigns don't conflict with your regime's foreign policies," Gadahn said, "and in fact, serve their colonialist designs?"
Gadahn went on to warn Americans, after tearing up his passport on camera, that "atrocities" against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan "will never be forgotten, nor go unpunished."
"You're now in a battle to the death with the Muslims," he said, adding that only releasing Muslim prisoners, leaving Muslim lands and coverting to Islam will spare Americans from "punishment."
"Don't wait until it's too late," he warned, "until you've seen the punishment with your own eyes."
Gadahn did not make specific threats against Leno or the first lady during the video.
In 2002, Leno told CNN's Larry King that she did not plan to travel to Afghanistan to meet with the women she helped liberate, because she feared for her safety.
"I have not been there because the Taliban are well aware of my campaign," she said. "They know what I look like, they know my name."
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Paratrooper Carries the Flag of his Father
Pfc. Alexander Cesario of Somerville, N.J., a forward observer with A Co, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, displays his father Adam's American flag on a rooftop in Baghdad's Suleikh neighborhood. As a Soldier in Vietnam, the elder Cesario flew the flag every day - including a three day period when he was missing in action - and his son now carries it with him on patrols in Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs.
Flag of My Father: Paratrooper Keeps Flag Carried by Dad in Vietnam Story by Staff Sgt. Mike Pryor, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Baghdad, Iraq
Like any Soldier, Pfc. Alexander Cesario always makes sure he has all his essential equipment before he goes outside the wire. For Cesario, that means his weapon, radio, and night vision goggles, as well as one special, personal item – an American flag his father brought home from Vietnam.
Cesario, a Somerville, N.J., native serving as a forward observer with Company A., Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, has carried his father’s flag with him on every mission since being deployed to Iraq a year ago.
The flag was first acquired by Cesario’s father, Adam, 61, when he was a young paratrooper serving in Vietnam. The elder Cesario never let a day go by without unfurling the flag, no matter where he was or what he was doing.
“(My dad) flew that flag every day, even if he had to put it up on a radio antenna,” Cesario said.
At one point, a mission went wrong and Cesario’s father was cut off from the rest of his platoon. For three days, he had to hack it out of the jungle alone, with the Vietcong in hot pursuit. But even on the run, he still managed to raise the flag each day.
“He didn’t stop moving at all for those three days, except to fly that flag,” Cesario said.
When Cesario’s father returned from the war, he put the flag into safekeeping. He was so protective of it that even family members were rarely allowed to handle it.
“It was like his prized possession,” Cesario said.
Nothing could make the elder Cesario part with the flag until Alexander, 19, was deployed to Iraq this year. After he began patrolling the streets of Baghdad, Cesario decided he wanted to carry on his father’s tradition. After some arm-twisting, he convinced his dad to mail him the flag.
The flag arrived with step-by-step instructions on how to take care of it, Cesario said. He recalled the final step with a laugh: “If you lose it, don’t bother coming home.”
Despite the threat of exile, Cesario takes the flag with him everywhere. It is his way of paying tribute to his father, he said.
“I wanted to honor him,” Cesario said, “It meant a lot to him, and because of that, it means a lot to me.”
Cesario keeps the flag tucked into the front flap of his body armor, close to his heart. He said he’s looking forward to redeploying and returning the flag – now a veteran of two wars – to its rightful owner. Eventually Cesario, who is single, said he would like to pass the flag on to his own son, when he has one. There’s only one problem.
“I’ll have to pry it away from my dad first,” he joked.
I love the fact that we still have wonderful young men in this country who are still willing to stand up and be counted when the country needs them. Generation after generation, the United States produces these awesome young men (and women).
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
We're Home!!!
I was pleasantly surprised when we showed up at their home to the freshly decorated (real!) tree trimmed with real lit candles. The slightly English speaking father of the house announced that they spend the evening celebrating the birth of Jesus, singing Carols and eating a traditional meal. The family exchanged simple, relatively inexpensive gifts and the rest of the evening was spent eating a fabulous meal and attempting to communicate in the odd way we found to communicate with none of us speaking the others language. We found common ground in laughter and love for our children who had married just the day before. I received gifts that included a porcelain angel, a metal plate with Bavarian scenes hand carved on it and a long leisurely evening around a dinner table spent with new family and new friends. It was a memorable and wonderful evening.
Now we are back in our own home. I'm looking forward to my own bed and a few days of relaxing rather than jamming across Bavaria. My son has two modes of operations, sleep and full throttle, so we fit a lot in to the two weeks we had there. Not to mention these semi-old bones need a couple of days of time zone recuperation and hopefully warmth seeing as these semi-old bones aren't accustomed to walking around in the snow and cold as if its a summer afternoon stroll. Frozen to the bone pretty much sums it up. But in a good way.
We have been traveling for 24 hours and I can't hardly think straight and I look like I've been rode hard and put up wet. My pen did something funky while I was filing out my declaration forms and leaked ink all over my fingers and hands leaving black stains all over them. I managed to break 5 fingernails during the trip today so my hands look pretty embarrassing at the moment. I spilled Mountain Dew on my sweater. When we were going through customs I dropped my passport and we couldn't find it for about 15 minutes. We only found it (in the fold of one of my suitcases) after a frantic search through the entire customs area with a customs agent holding me at his station while Beloved Curmudgeon retraced our steps looking for it. The customs guys periodically told me that this was not a good thing. I suggested that perhaps I should look instead of Beloved Curmudgeon as he can't find his socks in his sock drawer. The customs agent didn't think that was funny and told me, rather forcibly, that I could not and WOULD NOT leave my bags to go look. When I finally looked down and saw the passport in a nook of the suitcase and gave it to the customs guy he just motioned us through. The irritated look on his face and his exasperation left us laughing that he undoubtedly figured we couldn't possibly be terrorists when we were that incompetent. The whole thing was feeling a little like National Lampoon's Our Family's Christmas Vacation. We were a mess, exhausted, we hated the actual traveling but the overall trip was fantastic.
I hope you all had a special Christmas this year and spent time with the people you love and enjoyed the truly meaningful things in life, like schnitzel and the magical way that a well made bratwurst sandwich and gluhwein warms the body and soul when strolling through a Christmas Market when its 20 degrees. Its a wonderful thang!
Merry Christmas to all!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
We Are Loving Germany!
The second day we were here (I think ... cause time is completely out of whack for me!) we went to Rothenburg. One of the cultural differences that has really struck me here is that regardless of how cold it is outside ... and cold only begins to describe it ... people still get out and go places and do things OUTSIDE! My first real taste of that was our day in Rothenburg ob der Tauber (that means that this town of Rothenburg is the on that is above the Tauber River. Apparently Bavarians might have several towns with the same name and distinguish one from the other by where they are located. This one is distinguished from the others because it is located above the Tauber. Now you know!). Rothenburg is an ancient, medieval town that is well preserved, has survived many wars and continues to thrive.
As I mentioned, the German's don't stay inside when its cold. I lived in Michigan for a few years and really kind of expected it to be cold in much the same way it is in Michigan. Its not. At all. We are woefully unprepared for the cold and have had to buy more to keep warm because we are spending most of our days and evenings outside in spite of the minus 2,000 degree weather. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm not sure its much of one. My poor Southern bones are just not used to being this cold.
We spent all day and well into the evening outside, enjoying the sites and sounds of Rothenburg. And it wasn't just us crazy people. The place was full and everyone was walking around, enjoying the Christmas market, enjoying the shops and doing tourist-y things in the frozen place. They even put their babies in strollers and take them out - thickly wrapped in some German material that has a super sekret ingredient for warmth. 'How do they stand it', I asked my Beloved Curmudgeon, with chattering teeth and shaking bones. He said they are used to it. Its their culture, he said. They just don't let weather stop them from what they are doing. Oh.
At one point we go into one of the horse drawn open air carriages for a pleasant tour of the town in minus quadrillion degree weather. The driver of our carriage could have just walked straight out of central casting. He spoke to us in German and when he saw our blank stares, he spoke in English. His English was good as far as it goes. He was obviously accustomed to English visitors. Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger's accent and multiply that by 100 and you will have some semblance of an idea of how this man sounded. His red hair was cut short in what appeared to be some sort of buzz cut, at least what I could see of it under his hat. He had the complexion and demeanor of a man who had spent most of his days exposed to whatever elements God provided from day to day. I imagined that hard work without complaint and hard were his lot. I imagined that was just fine with him.
As we went along our driver would point out sites of interest, such as ancient torture chambers and places of hanging and punished those who needed public humiliation to keep them in check. He seemed to enjoy describing these techniques to us. Maybe I just imagined that, but I don't think so.
Both of the horses pulling our wagon had to stop and ... how do I put this delicately ... answer the call of nature. This called for the driver to stop, grab a bucket and put it up to their rears to catch the waste. It was not a pretty sight or pleasant smell. My son thought my reaction was hilarious and only made it worse by making funny remarks. He was sitting further back than me. They were right in my face. The second time this happened it was the horse right in front of me and our driver seemed to enjoy that my son and husband were making viscous fun of me while I tried to catch my breath somewhere ... anywhere ... away from the smell. As he held his bucket behind the horse and turned more or less in my direction he remarked that the shop on the corner right next to us was a great place for very large sausages if we were hungry. He described the sausages in detail with a twinkle in his weather worn eyes. I looked at him to try to determine if he was joking or completely oblivious to the sight and smell that was permeating the entire wagon at this point. I didn't want a sausage right at that moment.
By the end of the evening, even though I was still chilled to the bone long after we had returned to the warmth of my son's apartment, I understood why the German people go out regardless of the weather. They, at least the Franconians, are a people who enjoy life and find any excuse whatsoever to have a festival. In fact, as best as I can determine, they have festivals all the time. By the time we went to the local Christmas market (again) last night, I wasn't so cold. We stayed till it closed, had a fantastic time, meet a lot of random people, I laughed till my face hurt at stories told in German that I couldn't understand but were still funny and I didn't feel all that cold. I've discovered some of the secrets of the locals to keeping warm. It really is a lot of fun. We are just loving it here!
We are leaving for Munich in a couple of hours for a couple of days. I just wanted to steal a few minutes to say hello and write a quick update. I know my son will have us up well before dawn to start the trip. He's gotten so bossy (smile). I apologize for the wordiness and will try to cull it down a bit when we return from Munich - although then we are going up north for the wedding so who knows when I'll be online again. I'll also try to tell you about our trip into the mountains to go to a Monastery at the very top of an icy/snowy mountain and try to order food that we didn't know what it was and they couldn't tell us. Its all an adventure ( ;) ) Thanks to all the wonderful people who are posting here while we are gone. I hope everyone will visit their blogs because they are great people and have a lot to say that is worth reading!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Survivor China Votes Off James
Good luck, James. I have a feeling this isn't the last we see of you.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
I Called the Wrong Number to Germany
It kind of reminds me of a summer he spent with his father. We were living in Michigan at the time and so both the kids went to Georgia to spend the summer with their father. His voice changed one night. Literally. I talked with him one day and he sounded like himself. The next day he sounded grown. That's kind of what this feels like. My frat boy son went to Germany three years ago. At some point he became a man. Then he went to Baghdad and 15 months later he came back in charge of things, confident and self-assured.
The thing is that I didn't have his new phone number. I had his girlfriend's phone numbers, but not his. I thought maybe he still had the same number. I knew he probably didn't, but I needed to tell him something and thought I'd dial the number. A man answered the phone, 'Hallo'. Okay, it sounded KINDA like Josh, but not quite - and sometimes he does answer in German so I thought MAYBE it was him.
'Hey Josh', I said with a question in my voice, I wasn't sure it was him at all.
The man on the other end of the line said, 'Vlsdknfj oelejoei aoiej cvlkn e oeijfa cne voe rijfa['ew jfcaocnv oe.'
That wasn't Josh. Now I was sure of it. I didn't know what to say but I was raised to use telephone manners, so I couldn't just hang up. That would go against all my raising. 'I'm sorry, I dialed the wrong number.' I said. I then waited for a reply as if that was a reasonable thing to expect.
The man then replied, 'Wekndkdnfowe lkjsoeih hiohopies neoweihf eoifho veojff'olsn.'
He spoke in full sentences as though we were carrying on a conversation, which made no more sense than me speaking to him in full sentences. But again, it was against everything I was ever taught to just hang up. If he'd been a salesman who had called me it would have been different. But I had called him and had an irresistible need to explain that I was sorry I had disturbed him. I again apologized, 'I'm sorry, I've dialed the wrong number'.
This bizarre and ridiculous tete-a-tete went on back and forth two or three times. I finally apologized and just hung up the phone and laughed to myself. I just called Germany and carried on a conversation with some stranger in a different language that neither of us understood for a couple of minutes. That's just strange.
I never did get ahold of my son that evening.
Well, it was funnier in person.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Johnny Cash - I Won't Back Down
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
I'm Reviving This Blog
I've decided to revive this blog. I've renamed it 'My Blue Star Life' because I still have Blue Star Chronicles that I've been keeping up since I moved it from this location.
My plan is to use this blog for more personal stuff, like posts about my children, my husband and my life.
I guess we'll see how it goes :)
Don't forget to continue to visit Blue Star Chronicles.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Blue Star Chronicles
Check out new posts on the new Blue Star Chronicles site.
Iraqi Doctor Says he Killed Patients
What is it that Liberals don't Understand?
The French 'I don't Wanna have to Work for a Living' Riots The Embarrassment that is Cynthia McKinney While America Sleeps Peace Gets Stoned And daily Open Track Backs..... All at the new Blue Star Chronicles blog. Please update your links.... http://www.bluestarchronicles.com
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Donald Rumsfield on Operation Iraqi Freedom
Read about it at the new Blue Star Chronicles blog.
Please update your links to Blue Star Chronicles. http://www.bluestarchronicles.comSaturday, March 18, 2006
New Sammenhold Blogroll Members
Check out the new members of the Sammenhold Blogroll.
A list of some new members are found at the new Blue Star Chronicles. Please remember to update your links to the new Blue Star Chronicles site: http://www.bluestarchronicles.comThursday, March 16, 2006
Another Cowardly Retreat in the face of Muhammad Cartoons
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Wheww!
Monday, March 13, 2006
Is Peace Moonbeam a Fraud?
I've been studying the Supreme MoonBat, Peace Moonbeam's blog for some time now.
I really can't believe this chick. She hasn't grown up a bit since 1968. I've thought all along that the picture she's had on her site was probably TAKEN in 1968! HA!
I went over to her blog tonight to see what kind of ridiculous, outrageous, Anti-American, childishness she's been up to lately. Sure enough, she's FINALLY updated the pic on her blog. Go see it. I knew she wasn't really that cute. I just knew it.
In fact, I think the picture at the bottom of her latest post is really her. She says it's her so-called friend Scooter but if you take note of the under-arm hair you'll see what I mean.
I read her last three posts tonight. This flower child has been to see Fidel, Chavez, beaten poor little bunnies to death and gone to the Oscars just in the last month.
And she doesn't have a job. I'm sure she doesn't pay taxes.
To make matters even worse, half the right-leaning men on the internet are in love with her. Not that I care.
Grow up guys - she's a fraud. Look at her new photo! She's an aging, misguided, looney, perpetually adolescent, PETA, vegan, MoonBat, Manson-Girl Wanna-be.
Besides, she beat that poor little bunny to death after torturing it for Lord only knows how long!
What really irritated me about the whole thing tonight is that I was drinking a coke when I read her blog. Now I need a new keyboard and my monitor is a mess.
I would sue her - but she doesn't have a job.
Maybe she'll let me borrow her designed-by-a-little-bit-gay-designer Oscar gown as reparations for the damage her blog has done to my keyboard and monitor.
I wonder what color the gown is ....
cross-posted at http://www.bluestarchronicles.com/
Excerpt: If you support the troops check out the Blue Star Chronicles and join their Blogroll. Here is The History of The Blue Star: "The Blue Star Service Banner was designed and patented in 1917 by World War I Army Capt....
Weblog: Stuck On Stupid
Tracked: 03.14.06 - 9:23 am