Founded : December 2000 Created By : Esther Aquino and Joseph Garcia
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
Founded : December 2000 Created By : Esther Aquino and Joseph Garcia
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
September 1st, 2005
In Today's Edition
Barbara and Timi are planning a cruise for Neen's 60th birthday next year and they asked me to post this message.
Alaska Cruise
To celebrate
Neen’s 60th Birthday
Date: June 2nd –June 9th
(From Seattle, Washington and Neen would like to take Amtrak to Seattle)
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean cruise line
Price: Approximately $1019.00 and insurance is $89.00.
A deposit of $250.00 is required and the balance is due on March 15th.
This invitation is extended to everyone and as of now there are 5 confirmed for the trip. Neen, Barbara, Kia, Reco and Timi are going on the cruise.
This is just a suggestion but it would be nice if the family could pitch in to pay for Neen’s trip. This suggestion is not meant to offend anyone and put anyone in a financial bind.
Please contact Barbara if you are interested in going on the cruise or helping the Neen cruise fund.
Thank You and below is the website to check out the cruise itinerary information.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who are affected by the wrath of Katrina. They estimate that there are over 1,000 dead in New Orleans alone and thousands more homeless.
Please embrace these souls and keep them dear to your hearts with a prayer for hope and their salvation. If you can, make a donation to the Red Cross. Thank you.
Born on September 1st
Actress Yvonne DeCarlo (The Munsters) is 83.
Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 66.
Singer Archie Bell of Archie Bell and the Drells is 61.
Drummer Greg Errico of Sly and the Family Stone is 59.
Singer Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees is 59.
Talk-show host Phil McGraw is 55.
Singer Gloria Estefan is 48.
Singer-guitarist Grant Lee Phillips is 42.
Country singer-songwriter Charlie Robison is 41.
DJ Spigg Nice of Lost Boyz is 35.
Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira (Desperate Housewives) is 34.
Actor Scott Speedman (Felicity) is 30.
Why Men Are Just Happier People
What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last
name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take
care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can
be president. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a
white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO T-shirt to a
water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is
your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station
restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to
stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same
work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress
$5000. Tux rental - $100. People never stare at your chest
when you're talking to them. The occasional well-rendered
belch is practically expected. New shoes don't cut, blister, or
mangle your feet. One mood - all the time. Phone
conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can
open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest
act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or
she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for
three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You almost never have strap problems in public. You are
unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your
face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for
years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face
and neck. You can play with toys all your life. Your belly
usually hides your big hips. One wallet and one pair of shoes
one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter
how your legs look. You can "do" your nails with a
pocketknife. You have freedom of choice concerning
growing a mustache.No wonder men are happier!
Hey, Hey, We're The Monks!
Today's useless fact - Why do your ears and nose get bigger as you age?
According to the links in the Plastic Surgery category, a number of scientific studies have been conducted over the years in an attempt to answer this perplexing question. One such project found that on average, ears grow one-hundredth of an inch every year.
Many people are under that impression that our ears and nose get bigger throughout life because they are made of cartilage, which continues to grow after our bones have stopped. While this is true of the cartilage in fish that lack a bone skeleton, such as sharks, the expert at the MadSci network says it's simply not true for humans and other animals with a bone skeleton.
So what accounts for the largish ears and nose one tends to see on older folk? Some speculate that large ears somehow correlate with longer life, so those with biggish ears are simply the ones who make it to old age. And on one plastic surgery site, we read, "Nasal cartilage becomes thinner and loses its elasticity as we age, causing the tip of the nose to lengthen and droop." So maybe our nose and ears just get droopier?
Fact is, no one really knows. This smells like one of those eternally confounding scientific questions that we'll continue to hear about until someone sniffs out a satisfactory explanation.
The Buzzword for September 1st
September \sep-TEM-ber\ noun
What does it mean?
: the ninth month of the year
How do you use it?
"I can remember exactly how the country looked to me as I
walked beside my grandmother along the faint wagon-tracks on
that early September morning." (Willa Cather, _My Antonia_)
Are you a word wiz?
Where do you think the word "September" comes from?
A. from a Greek word meaning "shorter days"
B. from the name of a god in Norse mythology
C. from the Latin word for "seven"
D. from the name of a French hill where the sun sets in late
summer
Answer:
The ancient Romans originally used a ten-month calendar which
began the year with the month of March. The seventh month of
the year was called "September," from "septem," a Latin word
meaning "seven." The names for the last three months were
also formed from Latin numbers. "October" comes from "octo"
meaning "eight," "November," comes from "novem" meaning
"nine," and "December comes from "decem" meaning "ten."
Eventually, the Romans added January and February to their
calendar as the first and second months of the year. This
made the numerical order of the last four months incorrect,
but the Romans kept the old names anyway and English speakers
have inherited them.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
CLICK HERE
Sprig
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend.
The following is what appeared in Wednesday's edition.
In Today's Edition
I know that Esther sent this out to a lot of you but the story bears repeating and remembering.
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.
So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
If you're "too busy" to take those few minutes to tell someone how you feel about them, would this be the VERY first time you didn't do that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships?
Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.
Born on August 31st
Singer Van Morrison is 60.
Guitarist Rudolf Schenker of Scorpions is 57.
Actor Richard Gere is 56.
Singer Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze is 48.
Drummer Gina Schock of The Go-Go's is 48.
Singer Tony DeFranco of the DeFranco Family is 46.
Singer Chris Whitley is 45.
Keyboardist Larry Waddell of Mint Condition is 42.
Guitarist Jeff Russo of Tonic is 36.
Singer Deborah Gibson is 35.
Bassist Greg Richling of The Wallflowers is 35.
Actor Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) is 33.
Singer Tamara of Trina and Tamara is 28.
Insurance?
Bill's barn burned down and his wife, Lynn, called the insurance company.
Lynn spoke to the insurance agent and said, "We had that barn insured for fifty thousand, and I want my money."
The agent replied, "Whoa there, just a minute. Insurance doesn't work quite like that. An independent adjuster will assess the value of what was insured, and then we'll provide you with a new barn of similar worth."
There was a long pause, and then Lynn replied, "If that's how it works, then I want to cancel the life insurance policy on my husband."
Today's useless fact - How did coins get their names?
One can bank on the fact that most coins derive from Latin words, and are named after people, places, or things.
Even the word coin, translates from the Latin "cuneus," meaning wedge, and was thusly named because early coins ressembled the wedges the dies used to coin coins. Our cent, from the Latin "centum," meaning one hundred, our dime, from the Latin "decimus," meaning tenth, and the French franc, from the Latin "Franconium Rex," meaning King of the Franks, are all examples of the naming of money, the root of all evil, which translates from the Latin word "mona," meaning to warn!
On to a more weighty manner in which people named coins, that being physical weight. The English pound, translates from the Latin "pondo," meaning pound, or, to get more heavily into detail, from the Latin "libra pondo," meaning a pound of weight. This method of naming coins weighed heavily in naming of the Spanish peso and of the Italian lira.
A sense of fairness dictates that some coins bear the names of the metals of which they are composed. Thus, our nickel is made of nickel. Location, not Latin, sometimes figures prominently into the naming of sum (oops!), some coins. Our very own dollar, not always in paper form, originally hailed from the silver mines of Bohemia, where Bohemians extracted silver for the coins, and minted them in the town of Joachimsthal. Realizing that the coin they termed the Joachimsthaler, short of lacking in creativity, was rather lengthy, our Bohemian friends lost the head of the name, and kept the tail, with the end result being the thaler. The thaler eventually lost its lisp, and became our dollar.
The Buzzword for August 31st
amnesty \AM-nuh-stee\ noun
What does it mean?
: the granting of pardon (as by a government) to a large
number of
persons
How do you use it?
The leader of the rebels gave himself up in return for a
promise that his followers would be granted amnesty.
Are you a word wiz?
Pardon us, but what do you think the root word of "amnesty"
means?
A. agreement
B. forgetfulness
C. mercy
D. conference
Answer:
Whoops! We almost forgot to tell you the answer is B,
"forgetfulness." "Amnesty" comes from the Greek word
"amnestia," which means "forgetfulness" and which traces back
to Greek "mnasthai," "to remember." Another form of
"amnestia," the Greek word "amnesia," was borrowed directly
into English as "amnesia," which means "a severe loss of
memory." While "amnesia" is usually the result of an illness
or injury, "amnesty" represents an intentional "forgetting"
of an unlawful deed. In other words, the government or other
people in power decide to "forget" that it ever happened.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
CLICK HERE
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
The following is what appeared in Tuesday's edition.
In Today's Edition
Children are kites.
You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you are both breathless. They crash. They hit the rooftop. You patch and comfort, adjust and teach. You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday, they will fly.
Finally, they are airborne; They need more string and you keep letting it out; But with each twist of the ball of twine, There is a sadness that goes with joy. The kite becomes more distant and you know it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that binds you two together and will soar, free and alone.
Only then do you know that you did your job.
~ Erma Bombeck
Born on August 30th
Actor Bill Daily (I Dream of Jeannie,The Bob Newhart Show) is 77.
Actress Elizabeth Ashley is 66.
Actor-turned-politician Ben Jones (The Dukes of Hazzard) is 64.
Actress Peggy Lipton (The Mod Squad) is 58.
Comedian Lewis Black (The Daily Show) is 57.
Actor Michael Chiklis (The Shield, The Commish) is 42.
Actress Michael Michele is 39.
Country singer Sherrie Austin is 34.
Actress Cameron Diaz is 33.
TV personality Lisa Ling is 32.
Drummer Matt Taul of Tantric is 27.
Singer-guitarist Aaron Barrett of Reel Big Fish is 25.
Stalled
I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying, "Hi, how are you?"
I'm not the type to start a conversation in the restroom but I don't know what got into me, so I answered, somewhat embarrassed, "Doin' just fine!"
And the other person says, "So what are you up to?"
What kind of question is that? At that point, I'm thinking this is too bizarre so I say, "Uhhh, I'm like you, just traveling!"
At this point I am just trying to get out as fast as I can when I hear another question, "Can I come over?"
Ok, this question is just too weird for me but I figured I could just be polite and end the conversation. I say, "No... I'm a little busy right now!"
Then I hear the person say nervously, "Listen, I'll have to call you back. There's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions!"
You have just received the Amish Virus.
Since we do not have electricity nor computers, you are on the honor system. Please delete all of your files.
Thank thee.
Today's useless fact - Do the Amish pay taxes?
Just like the rest of us, the Amish are not exempt from life's two certainties -- death and taxes. However, there is a reason behind the persistent myth that the Amish do not pay taxes.
The Amish live within self-sufficient communities and do not collect Social Security, unemployment, or welfare benefits. According to their religious beliefs, paying Social Security, an insurance premium for the elderly, is tantamount to not "taking care of their own." Amish people who are self-employed are not obliged to pay Social Security tax, but they do still pay all other taxes, including property, income, and sales tax. If an Amish person decides to work outside of the community, he or she must also pay Social Security tax like any other American.
In 1955, the IRS extended the Social Security Act of 1935 to include farm operators. At the time, some Amish people immediately complied with the tax, while others conscientiously objected to it. Many felt that it violated the separation of church and state, some did not want to accept monies for government programs, and still others believed that paying a commercial insurance for the elderly went against their trust in God to take care of them.
The IRS and the Amish played a convoluted shell game for close to a decade, until it all came to a head with the seizure of a struggling farmer's horses in 1961. The Amish elders stuck firmly by their principles, and the ensuing media and community outrage over the incident led the IRS to relent four years later. Tucked away in the 1965 Medicare Bill was a clause exempting the "Old Order Amish" and other religious groups that conscientiously objected to paying insurance premiums from Social Security tax. To be exempt, the group or sect must have been established prior to 1950 and maintain reasonable provisions for their elderly.
The Buzzword for August 30th
repository \rih-PAH-zuh-tor-ee\ noun
What does it mean?
1 : a place or container where something is deposited or
stored
2 : one that contains or stores something immaterial
How do you use it?
The Word Central dictionary is a valuable repository of
knowledge.
Are you a word wiz?
One of the following choices contains another meaning of
"repository." Which one do you think it is?
A. a place or region richly supplied with a natural resource
B. something imagined or pictured in the mind
C. an extinct language spoken in ancient Mesopotamia
D. a container shaped like a flattened bottle
Answer:
The famous American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson used the
sense of "repository" at answer A when he wrote "the air I
breathe is drawn from the great repositories of nature..." in
his essay called "History." "Repository" has been part of the
English language since the 1400s, deriving from Latin
"reponere," "to replace." A later related verb, "reposit,"
means "to deposit" or "to store." "Reposit" and "repository"
are also related to "repose," which before the mid-1700s also
meant "to deposit" and now means "to place confidence or trust
in someone." This "repose" is unrelated to the "repose"
meaning "rest."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
CLICK HERE
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
The following is what appeared in Monday's edition.
In Today's Edition
First of all I'd like to thank Neen for taking over the reins while I was away. She did such a good job that I was afraid to come back for fear of an uprising by her new found followers. I haven't heard any protests so I guess I'll just settle back in and continue where I left off.
Oh Neen, since you "walked a mile in my shoes", could you use some Dr. Scholls foot powder next time?
Seriously Neen, thanks for the great job. I just might be taking more weeks off in the future.
I received an e-mail from Ted warning me of a virus that's going around. I don't know how true this is but it's better to be safe than sorry. Here's what he forwarded to me.
During the next several weeks be VERY cautious about opening or launching any e-mail's that refer to the World Trade Center or 9/11 in any way, regardless of who sent it. PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, "WTC" STANDS FOR THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. THIS IS REALLY DANGEROUS BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL OPEN IT RIGHT AWAY, THINKING IT'S A STORY RELATING TO 9/11!
BIG TROUBLE !!!! DO NOT OPEN "WTC Survivor" It is a virus that will erase your whole "C" drive.. It will come to you in the form of an E-Mail from a familiar person. I repeat, a friend sent it to me, but called and warned me before I opened it. He was not so lucky and now he can't even start his computer!
Forward this to everyone in your address book. I would rather receive this 25 times than not at all. So, if you receive an email called "WTC Survivor", do not open it. Delete it right away! This virus removes all dynamic link libraries (.dll files) from your computer.
Born on August 29th
1986 Lauren Collins (actress)
1985 Jeff Licon (actor)
1975 Dante Basco (actor)
1971 Carla Gugino (actress)
1962 Rebecca DeMornay (actress)
1958 Michael Jackson (singer, actor)
1956 Dan Truman (keyboardist)
1941 Robin Leach (TV host)
1941 Ellen Geer (actress)
1939 William Friedkin (director)
1938 Elliott Gould (Goldstein) (actor)
1936 John McCain (politician)
1933 Isabel Sanford (actress)
1928 Dick O'Neill (actor)
1924 Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones) (singer)
1923 Sir Richard Attenborough (actor, director)
1920 Charlie (Charles Christoper) Parker, Jr (musician)
1917 Isabel Sanford (actress)
1916 George Montgomery (George Letz) (actor)
1915 or 1918 Ingrid Bergman (actress)
1912 Barry Sullivan (Patrick Barry) (actor)
1898 Preston (b. Edmund Preston Biden) Sturges (Film director, screenwriter, playwright)
1809 Oliver Wendell Holmes (physician, author)
Alicia Rooney
Elvira and Richard Tuttle's Anniversary
Superior Culture
A Greek and Italian were sitting in a Starbuck's one day discussing who had the superior culture. Over triple lattes the Greek guy says, "Well, we have the Parthenon."
Arching his eyebrows, the Italian replies, "We have the Coliseum."
The Greek retorts, "We Greeks gave birth to advanced mathematics."
The Italian, nodding agreement, says, "But we built the Roman Empire."
And so on and so on until the Greek comes up with what he thinks will end the discussion.
With a flourish of finality he says, "We invented sex!"
The Italian replies, "That may be true, but it was Italians who introduced it to women!"
Today's useless fact - Is there a "suggested donation" to pay a minister for a wedding ceremony?
According to the links in the Wedding Advice category, religious wedding officiants don't usually charge fees for their services, but they may request donations to their houses of worship. The donation amount varies from place to place, so it's wise to inquire before choosing the person who helps you say, "I do."
A commonly suggested donation is $75 to $100. The dollar figure might be less if you belong to that minister's church, or it could be more if the clergyperson provides pre-marriage counseling.
Officiants for civil ceremonies will charge set fees -- just ask their offices. If your officiant has to travel to get to your wedding, you may be expected to cover that cost, too. As for who foots the fee, traditionally, the groom pays for the officiant services at the wedding.
The Buzzword for August 29th
doppelganger \DOP-ul-gang-er\ noun
What does it mean?
: someone who looks like someone else
How do you use it?
When I passed him on the street, I did a double-take because I
thought he was you, but he was just your doppelganger.
Are you a word wiz?
What else was happening in the world around the time that
"doppelganger" came into English?
A. St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, fraternal twins, founded a
religious order for monks and nuns (6th century).
B. Hamnet and Judith, twin children of William Shakespeare, were born
(16th century).
C. A masked prisoner held in the Bastille was rumored to be the twin
or the elder brother of the French king, Louis XIV (18th century).
D. One of the first known pairs of surviving conjoined twins
moved from Siam to America (19th century).
Answer:
No need to double-check if you chose D! "Doppelganger" came
into English around the same time that Chang and Eng, a
famous pair of conjoined twins, came to America. But when
"doppelganger" first came into English from German, it
referred not to a living double, but to a ghost or wraith
that resembled a living person. This was the meaning of
German "doppelganger" and the first meaning of the word in
English. It is still sometimes used, though over time the
spooky meaning has faded and "doppelganger" has come to be
used for someone who looks like someone else.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
CLICK HERE
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
