new england vampires
Bioarcheological and Biocultural Evidence for the New England Vampire Folk Belief
............HISTORICAL EVIDENCE The final piece of evidence is this historic newspaper account (Wright, 1973): "In the May 20, 1854 issue of the Norwich (Connecticut) Courier, there is an account of an incident that occurred at Jewett [City], a city in that vicinity. About eight years previously, Horace Ray of Griswold had died of consumption. Afterwards, two of his children--grown-up sons--died of the same disease, the last one dying about 1852. Not long before the date of the newspaper the same fatal disease had seized another son, whereupon it was determined to exhume the bodies of the two brothers and burn them, because the dead were supposed to feed upon the living; and so long as the dead body in the grave remained undecomposed, either wholly or in part, the surviving members of the family must continue to furnish substance on which the dead body could feed. Acting under the influence of this strange superstition, the family and friends of the deceased proceeded to the burial ground on June 8, 1854, dug up the bodies of the deceased brothers, and burned them on the spot."
This account places the vampire belief in the Jewett City/Griswold area just after the time span of the Griswold cemetery. The excellent preservation of the vampire skeleton indicates that it was probably buried toward the latter time period for the cemetery (ca. 1800-1840), thus placing the internment of this individual close to the time of the above account. The town of Griswold was settled just after 1812, in part by emigrants from Western Rhode Island, who were, according to local tradition, uneducated and "vicious" (Phillips, 1929). Note in Table 1 that several vampire accounts are also located in Western Rhode Island. The Rhode Island belief was examined by Stetson (1898), who relates that the Rhode Islanders he interviewed did not consider their practice to be vampirism but rather believed it was a way to protect living relatives from potential vampiristic actions of a deceased consumptive. ..........
the jewett city vampires
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Saturday, December 16, 2006
soy sauce???
i wish i had heard of this sooner. aloe DOES work, but i didn't have any on that fateful night last week.
i made a christmas tree for my department and another one for my boss' new son. yes, i use a glue gun. YES i know i'm NOT allowed to use a glue gun. (blogger is NOT letting me post the pictures. if i remember, i'll try again later)
the glue gun dripped and i didn't realize it dripped on my jeans. i accidently put my hand on my pants and my right hand was covered in molten glue. i had NOTHING in my house (which is unusual for me) to help. my fingers blistered horribly but there was no pain after the initial contact. no pain that is until a couple of days ago. the blisters popped a while ago, but just two days ago my skin under the blisters cracked. i have some nasty HURTING wounds.
More Testimony For Soy Sauce As Burn Treatment
By JOE GRAEDON and TERESA GRAEDON December 15 2006
Q: I listened to your public-radio show and heard a man call in recommending soy sauce for burns. "How weird is that?" I thought. But then, as I took a loaf of bread out of the oven, the inner edge of my thumb and the fleshy pad underneath hit the metal rim of the pan. I expected a painful burn. Since I had nothing else at hand, I decided to try the soy-sauce remedy.The pain eased up in less than a minute; the soreness did not materialize; and even the redness went away! It may be weird, but it certainly did work!A: We wish we knew why this home remedy works, but we have heard from several people that it does, including an Army Ranger who told us that U.S. Special Forces medics also used soy sauce for combat-related burns............
i made a christmas tree for my department and another one for my boss' new son. yes, i use a glue gun. YES i know i'm NOT allowed to use a glue gun. (blogger is NOT letting me post the pictures. if i remember, i'll try again later)
the glue gun dripped and i didn't realize it dripped on my jeans. i accidently put my hand on my pants and my right hand was covered in molten glue. i had NOTHING in my house (which is unusual for me) to help. my fingers blistered horribly but there was no pain after the initial contact. no pain that is until a couple of days ago. the blisters popped a while ago, but just two days ago my skin under the blisters cracked. i have some nasty HURTING wounds.
More Testimony For Soy Sauce As Burn Treatment
By JOE GRAEDON and TERESA GRAEDON December 15 2006
Q: I listened to your public-radio show and heard a man call in recommending soy sauce for burns. "How weird is that?" I thought. But then, as I took a loaf of bread out of the oven, the inner edge of my thumb and the fleshy pad underneath hit the metal rim of the pan. I expected a painful burn. Since I had nothing else at hand, I decided to try the soy-sauce remedy.The pain eased up in less than a minute; the soreness did not materialize; and even the redness went away! It may be weird, but it certainly did work!A: We wish we knew why this home remedy works, but we have heard from several people that it does, including an Army Ranger who told us that U.S. Special Forces medics also used soy sauce for combat-related burns............
faith for 22
i don't live next door to faith. i did grow up a street or two away. the houses on her street are fairly LARGE. i'm sure there is PLENTY of room for faith AND her hounds from hell. if they're quiet and faith keeps the yard clean, i wouldn't have a problem with her having 22 of 'em
Dog Owner Will Appeal Ordinance
By GREG SEAY The Hartford Courant December 15 2006, 3:00 PM EST WEST HARTFORD – -- The owner of 22 Shih Tzu dogs said today she has no plans to part with members of her "family'' and has lodged an appeal of the town's efforts to force her to have no more than three of the animals."I want my dogs till they die,'' dog owner Faith Kilburn said. "I love them. They love me.''.........
Faith Kilburn opens the backdoor of her West Hartford home to let in 6 of her 22 Shih Tzus dogs after taking a walk around the backyard. (JOHN WOIKE)
Friday, December 15, 2006
i didn't even know senator dodd was going to syria
until the king and his court complained about it!
what is the answer to the ills of the world? well many things but it ALL STARTS WITH TALKING. yes talking. even with those we don't care for. how the hell are we supposed to FIX things if we don't first UNDERSTAND THEM?
if iran wants to talk to us, WE SHOULD talk to them. FIRST STEP. baby steps but FIRST steps.
White House Criticizes Dodd Trip
By DAVID LIGHTMAN
Hartford Courant December 14 2006, 2:30 PM EST WASHINGTON -- The White House today called the visits of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd and other senators to Syria "inappropriate," saying the visits mean the Syrians have won a public relations victory.Dodd, D-Conn., who plans to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad on a Middle East trip that begins later this week, quickly fired back."Congress is a separate and co-equal branch of government, and as a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, where oversight is a critical component, members need to go to hotspots not just garden spots," he said.Dodd is one of several senators visiting Syria. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., met with Assad for an hour Wednesday, and Dodd will be joined at his meeting by Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.White House spokesman Tony Snow was asked about the trips at today's briefing."A lot of times, you know, a member of Congress may think, 'Well, I'm going to go there and I'm going to tell them exactly the same thing. I'm going to take a tough line,''' Snow saidBut, he added, "You can take a tough line all you want, but the Syrians have already won a PR victory. And so it's important to realize that in this case, it is not that there is a want of communication. We do have diplomatic relations with the Syrians and they do know what our position is, and that position is not going to change."..................
what is the answer to the ills of the world? well many things but it ALL STARTS WITH TALKING. yes talking. even with those we don't care for. how the hell are we supposed to FIX things if we don't first UNDERSTAND THEM?
if iran wants to talk to us, WE SHOULD talk to them. FIRST STEP. baby steps but FIRST steps.
White House Criticizes Dodd Trip
By DAVID LIGHTMAN
Hartford Courant December 14 2006, 2:30 PM EST WASHINGTON -- The White House today called the visits of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd and other senators to Syria "inappropriate," saying the visits mean the Syrians have won a public relations victory.Dodd, D-Conn., who plans to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad on a Middle East trip that begins later this week, quickly fired back."Congress is a separate and co-equal branch of government, and as a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, where oversight is a critical component, members need to go to hotspots not just garden spots," he said.Dodd is one of several senators visiting Syria. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., met with Assad for an hour Wednesday, and Dodd will be joined at his meeting by Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.White House spokesman Tony Snow was asked about the trips at today's briefing."A lot of times, you know, a member of Congress may think, 'Well, I'm going to go there and I'm going to tell them exactly the same thing. I'm going to take a tough line,''' Snow saidBut, he added, "You can take a tough line all you want, but the Syrians have already won a PR victory. And so it's important to realize that in this case, it is not that there is a want of communication. We do have diplomatic relations with the Syrians and they do know what our position is, and that position is not going to change."..................
a connecticut man paints spiders on stamps!
another cool connecticut resident
Winsted stamp painter makes his mark on the mail
By Jim Moore, Republican-American December 14, 2006
WINSTED, Conn. --Steve Buchanan traded a life of concert halls and classrooms for brushes and bugs, and he's never looked back.
From his meticulously tended home and studio beside a babbling brook on Colebrook Road, Buchanan has illustrated countless books, magazines, newspaper stories, product packages and postage stamps, all part of a flourishing second career.
"I kind of got a late start," Buchanan, 57, said with a laugh. He learned to draw in his 30s while teaching classical piano at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.
Known for his photo-realistic style and exacting eye for detail, Buchanan's art career blossomed in the late 1990s, thanks to a commission from the U.S. Postal Service to paint insects and spiders.
The 20-stamp set remains among the most popular in postal service history. It's number six on the postal service's list of stamps sold but never used, said Terry McCaffery, manager of stamp development for the postal service.
Buchanan is among a select few to be called on repeatedly to paint postage stamps; he has also painted motorcycles, tropical flowers, reptiles and amphibians, carnivorous plants and, most recently, a set of images for the "Pollinators" collection to be released next year when rates change........
Winsted stamp painter makes his mark on the mail
By Jim Moore, Republican-American December 14, 2006
WINSTED, Conn. --Steve Buchanan traded a life of concert halls and classrooms for brushes and bugs, and he's never looked back.
From his meticulously tended home and studio beside a babbling brook on Colebrook Road, Buchanan has illustrated countless books, magazines, newspaper stories, product packages and postage stamps, all part of a flourishing second career.
"I kind of got a late start," Buchanan, 57, said with a laugh. He learned to draw in his 30s while teaching classical piano at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.
Known for his photo-realistic style and exacting eye for detail, Buchanan's art career blossomed in the late 1990s, thanks to a commission from the U.S. Postal Service to paint insects and spiders.
The 20-stamp set remains among the most popular in postal service history. It's number six on the postal service's list of stamps sold but never used, said Terry McCaffery, manager of stamp development for the postal service.
Buchanan is among a select few to be called on repeatedly to paint postage stamps; he has also painted motorcycles, tropical flowers, reptiles and amphibians, carnivorous plants and, most recently, a set of images for the "Pollinators" collection to be released next year when rates change........
Thursday, December 14, 2006
i for one think it's about time
they installed cameras on avon mountain. i for one can live with the registered owner getting a ticket even if they are not the ones driving. it's a dangerous stretch of road and any and everything should be done to make it safer. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
New Cameras Could Catch Speeders On Avon Mountain
A new proposal includes installing cameras to catch speeders on Avon Mountain.
Slowing down speeders on Avon Mountain has been a top priority for police ever since a dump truck lost control last year and caused a fiery crash that killed four people.
The cameras would track speeders with special cameras. It's one of several safety improvements that was proposed after last year's tragedy.
The new cameras would work by snapping a picture of someone's license plate. That information would identify the car’s owner, and he or she would get a ticket in the mail.
It's sounds simple, but not everyone's smiling for the cameras, including members of Avon's Town Council.
One of the issues, said town manager Phil Schenck, is that registered owners will get speeding tickets even if they're not the ones caught on camera. That's currently illegal In Connecticut.........
New Cameras Could Catch Speeders On Avon Mountain
A new proposal includes installing cameras to catch speeders on Avon Mountain.
Slowing down speeders on Avon Mountain has been a top priority for police ever since a dump truck lost control last year and caused a fiery crash that killed four people.
The cameras would track speeders with special cameras. It's one of several safety improvements that was proposed after last year's tragedy.
The new cameras would work by snapping a picture of someone's license plate. That information would identify the car’s owner, and he or she would get a ticket in the mail.
It's sounds simple, but not everyone's smiling for the cameras, including members of Avon's Town Council.
One of the issues, said town manager Phil Schenck, is that registered owners will get speeding tickets even if they're not the ones caught on camera. That's currently illegal In Connecticut.........
cool school
i don't know if many people in connecticut know about talcott mountain science center. it's right on top of avon mountain. a long windy road. i didn't know about the cost of tuition for the students. i do so hope there is help to the parents of GIFTED students who can't afford that steep price. it sure would be a shame if some were kept out just because they couldn't afford it. we (america) need ALL of the scientists we can get AND we do have to start EARLY. get kids interested in science and math. and NOT just boys either
TEAM MEMBERS Zach Wolf, 13, of Manchester, left, and Jason Whitehouse, 13, of Avon, explain their project using an instrument they made that measures light reflecting from the moon. Two dozen teams at the Talcott Mountain Academy of Science, Mathematics and Technology presented their projects to a NASA scientist. (MICHAEL MCANDREWS)
By ROBERT A. FRAHM Courant Staff Writer December 13 2006AVON -- Scientist Marci Delaney of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center worries about the state of science education in America but is encouraged by what she saw Tuesday from young scientists such as 10-year-old Chandler Libby.Chandler and fellow fifth-grader Benjamin Suski measured the diameter and depth of craters on the moon using a lunar replica model from NASA and actual observations of the moon through telescopes.Theirs was one of about two dozen projects presented Tuesday by students from the Talcott Mountain Academy of Science, Mathematics and Technology in NASA's "Moon Math Challenge.""Oh, fantastic," Delaney said, summing up the quality of projects devised by Talcott's middle school students. "I'm blown away. These kids obviously enjoy the science and math they're doing."The academy, a private school for gifted children from kindergarten through eighth grade, is a place where children can experiment with solar panels, monitor the weather with instruments such as Doppler radar, or observe the moon through a large telescope on their campus atop Talcott Mountain.Though it is rare for schools to have the kind of equipment or expertise found at the academy, the school is a model for the kind of practical, hands-on education that experts believe is needed if the United States is to keep its edge in science and technology."They're in a special situation here," said Delaney, who visited the academy to observe the "Moon Math Challenge," part of NASA's "Exploring Space Challenges" program promoting science education.............
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
i have a favorite niece
my family doesn't read this blog so i can say that. i love all of my nieces and nephews but from the time k was born, i knew she was extra special. she had a special look about her. she has a special attitude. as a baby and toddler she was FEARLESS (that by the way is NOT always a good thing). she has always had a mind of her own. she has a twin brother and a sister who is one year older than them.
they found a mass in her gut yesterday. she's going in for surgery tomorrow. it's not right when they find a mass in the gut of a 12 year old. it's just not
i called k last night to remind her of something. when she came to visit her aunt (me) after HER surgery. aunt was staying at grandma's house (for ONE day only. aunt couldn't take more than that. when grandma offered to warm auntie's pajamas, auntie got VERY SCARED indeed). k was a very little grrrl at that time. aunt had her piglet at grandma's house to keep her company. aunt LOVED that piglet. k walked in and took that piglet and aunt didn't have the heart to take piglet back. k still has that piglet and auntie is STILL steamed.....
anyway, as i said, it ain't right when a 12 year old has to have her abdomen opened up.
they found a mass in her gut yesterday. she's going in for surgery tomorrow. it's not right when they find a mass in the gut of a 12 year old. it's just not
i called k last night to remind her of something. when she came to visit her aunt (me) after HER surgery. aunt was staying at grandma's house (for ONE day only. aunt couldn't take more than that. when grandma offered to warm auntie's pajamas, auntie got VERY SCARED indeed). k was a very little grrrl at that time. aunt had her piglet at grandma's house to keep her company. aunt LOVED that piglet. k walked in and took that piglet and aunt didn't have the heart to take piglet back. k still has that piglet and auntie is STILL steamed.....
anyway, as i said, it ain't right when a 12 year old has to have her abdomen opened up.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
awwwwwwwwwwww
Pups picture perfect at photo sessionFELICIA HUNTER, Correspondent
MILFORD — Nacho looked to the right, but the pose didn't flatter his best side.
He glanced to the left, but that position seemed a bit too dogmatic.
When he gazed directly ahead, utilizing the full rays of his sunbeam key light, everyone agreed that Nacho was finally ready for his close-up.
A 7-year-old rat terrier, Nacho was among dozens of pets expected to have their picture taken with Santa by the end of the day Saturday at Perfectly Spoiled Pet Boutique. As of 1 p.m., two hours into the event, about 25 dogs had taken their turn sitting on Santa's lap.
Some, like Nacho, were old pros.................
"Nacho" checks out Santa and sniffs his beard as he gets ready to have his photo with Santa at the Perfectly Spoiled Pet Boutique in Milford Saturday afternoon. (Whitney Kidder-Alvarez/Connecticut Post)
someone's getting a LUMP OF COAL in their stocking this year
idiots. just idiots. who could set a fire to letters to santa? idiots that's who
Police Seek Grinch Who Lit Fire In 'Santa's Mailbox'
WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- Hundreds of letters from West Haven children to Santa Claus won't make it to the North Pole this year.
Kids' hopes to reach out to Santa were dashed by what police were calling either a careless or destructive soul.
A red mailbox is set up every year on the West Haven green for kids to drop letters to the jolly ole elf..............
Sunday, December 10, 2006
our new wandering minstral
Wandering Minstrel Job Filled
It sounds kind of medieval, but Connecticut has a state troubadour.Pierce Campbell will take over the job from Thomasina Levy for his two-year term in 2007.It's a tradition established in 1991 by the Connecticut General Assembly. Previous troubadours were Dennis Waring, Kevin Briody, Hugh Blumenfeld, Jeff and Synia McQuillan, Sally Rogers, Mike Kachuba, Bill Pere, Phil Rosenthal, Sandy and Caroline Paton and Tom Callinan..........
(pierce plays at the half door from time to time.)
It sounds kind of medieval, but Connecticut has a state troubadour.Pierce Campbell will take over the job from Thomasina Levy for his two-year term in 2007.It's a tradition established in 1991 by the Connecticut General Assembly. Previous troubadours were Dennis Waring, Kevin Briody, Hugh Blumenfeld, Jeff and Synia McQuillan, Sally Rogers, Mike Kachuba, Bill Pere, Phil Rosenthal, Sandy and Caroline Paton and Tom Callinan..........
(pierce plays at the half door from time to time.)
Friday, December 08, 2006
briefly met up
with maureen and hannah yesterday. it was a pleasure to make their acquaintance!!! it's always so nice to meet new friends. due to my odd hours, i did have to dash rather quickly and i'm sorry about that part
Thursday, December 07, 2006
going back
the hartford courant is still doing one hell of a job on this story, mentally unfit, forced to fight. i am so very impressed.
last the armed forces said was, they were handling this. well this story sure doesn't sound like they are handling this
it's absolutely absurd AND MORE of a recipe for DISASTER
Broken By War, And Ordered Back
By LISA CHEDEKEL Courant Staff Writer December 10 2006
Nothing was stranger for Mary Jane Fernandez than the events of last Christmas, which had her 24-year-old son, newly returned from the war in Iraq, downing sedatives, ranting about how rich people were allowed to sit in recliners in church, and summoning the Waterbury police to come arrest him.This Christmas may top that.Despite being diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and rated 70 percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Damian Fernandez has been called back to duty and told to prepare for another deployment to Iraq.Two weeks ago, Fernandez, who was discharged from active duty in the Army last year and was working to settle back into civilian life, abruptly received orders to report to Fort Benning, Ga., on Jan. 14.When the FedEx letter from the Army arrived Nov. 28, he calmly told his mother and girlfriend, "I got my orders," staring hard at them with vacant eyes.That night, he snapped. He told his girlfriend, Riella Darko, that he wanted to die and asked her to take him to the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital, where he was placed on a suicide watch. He has since been transferred to a locked ward in the Northampton VA Medical Center in Massachusetts.His callback orders have not yet been rescinded. Even if they are, his mother said, simply being told he must go back into combat has set back his recovery."I don't understand why the military would put him through this," Mary Jane Fernandez said. "He was just starting to come back to reality a little, and now he's lost again."Fernandez is one of 8,262 soldiers who have left active duty but have been ordered back under a policy that allows the military to recall troops who have completed their service but have time remaining on their contracts. About 5,700 of those called up have already been mobilized, with Fernandez among about 2,500 ordered to report in the coming weeks.The practice of recalling inactive soldiers involuntarily is itself controversial, with some members of Congress and veterans' advocates calling it a backdoor draft................
last the armed forces said was, they were handling this. well this story sure doesn't sound like they are handling this
it's absolutely absurd AND MORE of a recipe for DISASTER
Broken By War, And Ordered Back
By LISA CHEDEKEL Courant Staff Writer December 10 2006
Nothing was stranger for Mary Jane Fernandez than the events of last Christmas, which had her 24-year-old son, newly returned from the war in Iraq, downing sedatives, ranting about how rich people were allowed to sit in recliners in church, and summoning the Waterbury police to come arrest him.This Christmas may top that.Despite being diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and rated 70 percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Damian Fernandez has been called back to duty and told to prepare for another deployment to Iraq.Two weeks ago, Fernandez, who was discharged from active duty in the Army last year and was working to settle back into civilian life, abruptly received orders to report to Fort Benning, Ga., on Jan. 14.When the FedEx letter from the Army arrived Nov. 28, he calmly told his mother and girlfriend, "I got my orders," staring hard at them with vacant eyes.That night, he snapped. He told his girlfriend, Riella Darko, that he wanted to die and asked her to take him to the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital, where he was placed on a suicide watch. He has since been transferred to a locked ward in the Northampton VA Medical Center in Massachusetts.His callback orders have not yet been rescinded. Even if they are, his mother said, simply being told he must go back into combat has set back his recovery."I don't understand why the military would put him through this," Mary Jane Fernandez said. "He was just starting to come back to reality a little, and now he's lost again."Fernandez is one of 8,262 soldiers who have left active duty but have been ordered back under a policy that allows the military to recall troops who have completed their service but have time remaining on their contracts. About 5,700 of those called up have already been mobilized, with Fernandez among about 2,500 ordered to report in the coming weeks.The practice of recalling inactive soldiers involuntarily is itself controversial, with some members of Congress and veterans' advocates calling it a backdoor draft................
ok, what the heck is up with this???
it's a billboard i saw yesterday walking to my car when i left work. i had to stop and snap it
welcome back!!!
to all of the sailors on the uss albuquerque
Family members cheer for the USS Albuquerque's return
(Groton-WTNH, Dec. 6, 2006 5:20 PM) _ After 6 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom sailors aboard the USS Albuquerque are back in Connecticut.
The submarine made its way back to the harbor.
by News Channel 8's Sara Welch
It's a beautiful thing to see these families reunited after being away for so long. It was windy and cold out at the subbase this afternoon.
This holiday homecoming warmed the heart.
"When is he going to be here?" asks a little boy in the crowd.
He was among the crowd waiting anxiously for the return of the their loved ones aboard the USS Albuquerque, as it made it way back to Groton..............
Family members cheer for the USS Albuquerque's return
(Groton-WTNH, Dec. 6, 2006 5:20 PM) _ After 6 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom sailors aboard the USS Albuquerque are back in Connecticut.
The submarine made its way back to the harbor.
by News Channel 8's Sara Welch
It's a beautiful thing to see these families reunited after being away for so long. It was windy and cold out at the subbase this afternoon.
This holiday homecoming warmed the heart.
"When is he going to be here?" asks a little boy in the crowd.
He was among the crowd waiting anxiously for the return of the their loved ones aboard the USS Albuquerque, as it made it way back to Groton..............
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
a shout out to the west hartford police
i liked what chief james strillacci had to say!
Sex offender warning in West Hartford
(West Hartford-WTNH, Dec. 5, 2006 9:28 pm) _ Words of warning and not just it's not just neighborhood chatter. Letters from one school were sent to parents to warn them of a high-risk sex offender living a short distance away. Tuesday evening those residents spoke out and it seems their voices have been heard.
by News Channel 8's Bob Wilson
Parents and students at Whiting Lane School have been warned, along with all of the other parents in West Hartford about 72 year old Barkentin Walker. Police say he is a sex offender who preys on children..........
..............The chief compared the sexual predator problem to the wild coyotes they have been dealing.
"If they act bold, call the police. If they are hanging around your house or school, call police, and don't get close enough to touch them, those are the things that apply to wild animals and sex offenders." ..............
Sex offender warning in West Hartford
(West Hartford-WTNH, Dec. 5, 2006 9:28 pm) _ Words of warning and not just it's not just neighborhood chatter. Letters from one school were sent to parents to warn them of a high-risk sex offender living a short distance away. Tuesday evening those residents spoke out and it seems their voices have been heard.
by News Channel 8's Bob Wilson
Parents and students at Whiting Lane School have been warned, along with all of the other parents in West Hartford about 72 year old Barkentin Walker. Police say he is a sex offender who preys on children..........
..............The chief compared the sexual predator problem to the wild coyotes they have been dealing.
"If they act bold, call the police. If they are hanging around your house or school, call police, and don't get close enough to touch them, those are the things that apply to wild animals and sex offenders." ..............
uh oh OUR very own senator dodd
has pissed off king george! dang
we all KNOW bolton never should have been in at OR around the u.n. he had an agenda from DAY ONE. he had ISSUES from DAY ONE. when you are at the u.n. you're supposed to be an ambassador (of sorts) for your country. THAT MAN DOES NOT REPRESENT MY COUNTRY. i'm GLAD he got the boot
Dodd Key In Bolton's Departure U.N. Ambassador Leaving Post Despite President's Efforts
By DAVID LIGHTMAN Washington Bureau Chief December 5 2006 WASHINGTON -- Sen. Christopher J. Dodd on Monday won his long, unusually passionate battle to deny John R. Bolton confirmation as United Nations ambassador - but both he and President Bush remained unforgiving warriors as each continued to insist he was absolutely right about the outspoken diplomat.A miffed Bush did not name the Connecticut senator, but said he was "deeply disappointed that a handful of United States senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up-or-down vote he deserved in the Senate."Bush lambasted senators who, he said, "chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time."Dodd fired back. He recalled how he had reservations about Bolton "from day one," and added, "I don't understand how someone who disdains the U.N. as much as Mr. Bolton did and does, can be an effective representative for U.S. interests in that international organization."Although Bush did not name Dodd, analysts said it was clear who bested the president."Sen. Dodd played the defining role," said Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "Bolton's profile of being a wacko had diminished, but Dodd was the one person who had not forgotten the past."..............
we all KNOW bolton never should have been in at OR around the u.n. he had an agenda from DAY ONE. he had ISSUES from DAY ONE. when you are at the u.n. you're supposed to be an ambassador (of sorts) for your country. THAT MAN DOES NOT REPRESENT MY COUNTRY. i'm GLAD he got the boot
Dodd Key In Bolton's Departure U.N. Ambassador Leaving Post Despite President's Efforts
By DAVID LIGHTMAN Washington Bureau Chief December 5 2006 WASHINGTON -- Sen. Christopher J. Dodd on Monday won his long, unusually passionate battle to deny John R. Bolton confirmation as United Nations ambassador - but both he and President Bush remained unforgiving warriors as each continued to insist he was absolutely right about the outspoken diplomat.A miffed Bush did not name the Connecticut senator, but said he was "deeply disappointed that a handful of United States senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up-or-down vote he deserved in the Senate."Bush lambasted senators who, he said, "chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time."Dodd fired back. He recalled how he had reservations about Bolton "from day one," and added, "I don't understand how someone who disdains the U.N. as much as Mr. Bolton did and does, can be an effective representative for U.S. interests in that international organization."Although Bush did not name Dodd, analysts said it was clear who bested the president."Sen. Dodd played the defining role," said Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "Bolton's profile of being a wacko had diminished, but Dodd was the one person who had not forgotten the past."..............
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
YOU elected him
not me. this is I N S A N E. insane. it's ok that almost 3,000 of our men and women are DEAD. countless are wounded and maimed (mentally and physically) and grandmothers and grandfathers are being called up for military duty?
show weakness? my big fat ass! so tell me da liebs, it's ok to send MORE men and women to their deaths so YOU are NOT embarrassed? is that the deal?
Lieberman Opposes Iraq Pullout Leaving Now Would Show `Weakness,' He Says
By DAVID LIGHTMAN Washington Bureau Chief December 4 2006WASHINGTON -- Despite mounting pressure from both parties for a change in direction in Iraq, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said Sunday that withdrawing American forces would be a "statement of weakness.""In the end, there has to be an Iraqi political settlement," Lieberman told CBS' "Face the Nation," "but they can't do it without security. And they can't achieve security if we begin to withdraw."Lieberman's comments came on a day when most lawmakers were talking in more conciliatory tones. The Iraq Study Commission report, to be issued Wednesday, is expected to suggest alternatives to current U.S. policy in Iraq.National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley defended administration policy Sunday, appearing on talk shows and saying that "we have not failed in Iraq." "We will fail in Iraq if we pull out our troops before we're in a position to help the Iraqis succeed," Hadley said.At the same time, he said, "The president understands that we need to have a way forward in Iraq that is more successful."Lieberman was tougher, saying that if the U.S. pulls out, "That's the signal to everybody I've talked to that the sectarian violence will get worse and the government will collapse."The senator, who won re-election last month as an independent, also criticized American lawmakers who talk about Iraq as a failed mission.There is "too little talk about the consequences of failure, which I believe would be disastrous to us," he said. "I mean, this is a war on terrorism we're involved in. Iraq is a battlefield. It's a conflict between freedom and totalitarianism, between moderation and extremism.".............
show weakness? my big fat ass! so tell me da liebs, it's ok to send MORE men and women to their deaths so YOU are NOT embarrassed? is that the deal?
Lieberman Opposes Iraq Pullout Leaving Now Would Show `Weakness,' He Says
By DAVID LIGHTMAN Washington Bureau Chief December 4 2006WASHINGTON -- Despite mounting pressure from both parties for a change in direction in Iraq, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said Sunday that withdrawing American forces would be a "statement of weakness.""In the end, there has to be an Iraqi political settlement," Lieberman told CBS' "Face the Nation," "but they can't do it without security. And they can't achieve security if we begin to withdraw."Lieberman's comments came on a day when most lawmakers were talking in more conciliatory tones. The Iraq Study Commission report, to be issued Wednesday, is expected to suggest alternatives to current U.S. policy in Iraq.National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley defended administration policy Sunday, appearing on talk shows and saying that "we have not failed in Iraq." "We will fail in Iraq if we pull out our troops before we're in a position to help the Iraqis succeed," Hadley said.At the same time, he said, "The president understands that we need to have a way forward in Iraq that is more successful."Lieberman was tougher, saying that if the U.S. pulls out, "That's the signal to everybody I've talked to that the sectarian violence will get worse and the government will collapse."The senator, who won re-election last month as an independent, also criticized American lawmakers who talk about Iraq as a failed mission.There is "too little talk about the consequences of failure, which I believe would be disastrous to us," he said. "I mean, this is a war on terrorism we're involved in. Iraq is a battlefield. It's a conflict between freedom and totalitarianism, between moderation and extremism.".............
i guess it's really NOT a good idea
to go into bushnell park any more. the state capital is just a stone's throw away. this just isn't right
Third Attack Reported In 3 Months At Hartford's Bushnell Park
HARTFORD, Conn. -- A woman said she was robbed at gunpoint in Hartford's Bushnell Park Monday night.
Police were out searching Monday with searchlights for a man described to be wearing a red sweat suit.
The woman reported that the man approached her, pointed a gun and demanded she hand over her purse
The man was seen running toward Jewel Street.
It was the third reported attack at Bushnell Park in the past three months.........
Third Attack Reported In 3 Months At Hartford's Bushnell Park
HARTFORD, Conn. -- A woman said she was robbed at gunpoint in Hartford's Bushnell Park Monday night.
Police were out searching Monday with searchlights for a man described to be wearing a red sweat suit.
The woman reported that the man approached her, pointed a gun and demanded she hand over her purse
The man was seen running toward Jewel Street.
It was the third reported attack at Bushnell Park in the past three months.........
Sunday, December 03, 2006
copperheads in connecticut
i saw a copperhead once (a young one) in west hartford reservoir. that was years ago. i'm scared of MANY things (like bugs. ALL bugs except lady bugs) but i've never been afraid of snakes. funny, huh
Snakes On The Brain Chuck Smith Traveled More Than 1,800 Miles In The State Tracking Copperheads
By STEVE GRANT Courant Staff Writer December 3 2006
Venturing off a hiking trail in Meriden, Chuck Smith scrambled up a steep hillside of fallen, craggy rocks known as talus. Beside a slab of rock about 3 feet long by 3 feet wide, he stopped."Somewhere under that rock, in this jumble of talus, there are a lot of copperheads," he said. Dozens of them, hibernating for the winter.Smith was part way up the side of one of the state's most distinctive geologic features, the Metacomet Ridge that runs north-south through the center of the state, a ridge that is lapped on both sides by ever-developing suburbia.That ridge is also the epicenter of the Connecticut range of the copperhead, a poisonous snake that tends to run 30 inches long in these woods. And when it comes to the copperheads of Connecticut, nobody knows them like Smith, a University of Connecticut graduate student finishing work on a doctorate degree.The Willington resident hiked more than 1,800 miles in central Connecticut for three years studying the copperheads, visiting the ridge an average of five days a week for eight months each of those years. Virtually every moment he monitored the movements of copperheads, after implanting radio transmitters in 35 males and females.Not only has Smith advanced scientific knowledge of the species, said Kurt Schwenk, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UConn who is Smith's adviser, but more important it was carried out long-term, involved a large number of animals and therefore yielded insights that a less ambitious study couldn't produce.........
A MALE COPPERHEAD basks in early fall before moving several hundred yards to the same location used the past two winters. He’s one of dozens of study subjects that UConn doctoral candidate Chuck Smith monitored for three years. (CHUCK SMITH)
CHUCK SMITH walks along a trap rock ridge in Meriden where copperhead snakes hibernate during the winter. Smith has been studying Connecticut copperhead snake populations for three years, using radio transmitters to monitor their movements. (RICK
HARTFORD)
Snakes On The Brain Chuck Smith Traveled More Than 1,800 Miles In The State Tracking Copperheads
By STEVE GRANT Courant Staff Writer December 3 2006
Venturing off a hiking trail in Meriden, Chuck Smith scrambled up a steep hillside of fallen, craggy rocks known as talus. Beside a slab of rock about 3 feet long by 3 feet wide, he stopped."Somewhere under that rock, in this jumble of talus, there are a lot of copperheads," he said. Dozens of them, hibernating for the winter.Smith was part way up the side of one of the state's most distinctive geologic features, the Metacomet Ridge that runs north-south through the center of the state, a ridge that is lapped on both sides by ever-developing suburbia.That ridge is also the epicenter of the Connecticut range of the copperhead, a poisonous snake that tends to run 30 inches long in these woods. And when it comes to the copperheads of Connecticut, nobody knows them like Smith, a University of Connecticut graduate student finishing work on a doctorate degree.The Willington resident hiked more than 1,800 miles in central Connecticut for three years studying the copperheads, visiting the ridge an average of five days a week for eight months each of those years. Virtually every moment he monitored the movements of copperheads, after implanting radio transmitters in 35 males and females.Not only has Smith advanced scientific knowledge of the species, said Kurt Schwenk, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UConn who is Smith's adviser, but more important it was carried out long-term, involved a large number of animals and therefore yielded insights that a less ambitious study couldn't produce.........
A MALE COPPERHEAD basks in early fall before moving several hundred yards to the same location used the past two winters. He’s one of dozens of study subjects that UConn doctoral candidate Chuck Smith monitored for three years. (CHUCK SMITH)
CHUCK SMITH walks along a trap rock ridge in Meriden where copperhead snakes hibernate during the winter. Smith has been studying Connecticut copperhead snake populations for three years, using radio transmitters to monitor their movements. (RICK
HARTFORD)a lovely article on jason hamill
he really DOES sound like everyone's best bud, someone you could both depend on AND have fun with. i know i would have liked to have a beverage with him (and yup, i'm crying again)
Family grieves for soldier killed days before his Iraq tour ended
By John Christoffersen, Associated Press Writer December 2, 2006
SALEM, Conn. --Sharon Hamill was home alone, sitting at the table eating lunch when she was startled by a noise around the garage. Then the doorbell rang.
She looked through the tinted window and spotted a green uniform. It must be her son Jason, an Army captain due home any day from Iraq who had a reputation for pulling pranks.
"I went to the door to let him in," Sharon Hamill said. "When I saw two men in uniform, I knew what it was. They looked at me and shook their head."
Jason was dead. He and two other soldiers were killed Nov. 26 in Baghdad by a roadside bomb while riding in an armored vehicle.
"In our eyes, he was a hero," his mother said Wednesday, fighting back tears.
Hamill's family is among the latest to grieve in a war that has taken the lives of nearly 3,000 U.S. service members and lasted longer than America's participation in World War II.
Hamill, 31, had spent a year in Iraq clearing the type of bomb that killed him and many other American troops.
"The hard part is finding the bombs," he wrote in an e-mail to his family in January. "They're very creative at hiding them but we have tons of technology and techniques to find them."
Hamill, a triplet, grew up in Salem, a tiny rural town in eastern Connecticut still sprinkled with farms. He wrestled in high school and played the drums in the band.
That's when Jon Stadler met Hamill and quickly became friends. When Hamill was around, everyone knew something funny would happen.
On a dare Hamill jumped in a frigid lake on New Year's Eve. He and Stadler took the wheels off a friend's car and plastered it with bumper stickers. Another time Hamill's father caught him tipping cows.........
Family grieves for soldier killed days before his Iraq tour ended
By John Christoffersen, Associated Press Writer December 2, 2006
SALEM, Conn. --Sharon Hamill was home alone, sitting at the table eating lunch when she was startled by a noise around the garage. Then the doorbell rang.
She looked through the tinted window and spotted a green uniform. It must be her son Jason, an Army captain due home any day from Iraq who had a reputation for pulling pranks.
"I went to the door to let him in," Sharon Hamill said. "When I saw two men in uniform, I knew what it was. They looked at me and shook their head."
Jason was dead. He and two other soldiers were killed Nov. 26 in Baghdad by a roadside bomb while riding in an armored vehicle.
"In our eyes, he was a hero," his mother said Wednesday, fighting back tears.
Hamill's family is among the latest to grieve in a war that has taken the lives of nearly 3,000 U.S. service members and lasted longer than America's participation in World War II.
Hamill, 31, had spent a year in Iraq clearing the type of bomb that killed him and many other American troops.
"The hard part is finding the bombs," he wrote in an e-mail to his family in January. "They're very creative at hiding them but we have tons of technology and techniques to find them."
Hamill, a triplet, grew up in Salem, a tiny rural town in eastern Connecticut still sprinkled with farms. He wrestled in high school and played the drums in the band.
That's when Jon Stadler met Hamill and quickly became friends. When Hamill was around, everyone knew something funny would happen.
On a dare Hamill jumped in a frigid lake on New Year's Eve. He and Stadler took the wheels off a friend's car and plastered it with bumper stickers. Another time Hamill's father caught him tipping cows.........
ok i'm crying
i'm so happy ms wynn got her christmas wish (i'd like to think of it as a christmas wish). thanks and a shout out to you mystic seaport
(every year a very dear (ex) friend and i used to take our winter pilgrimage to mystic. not the seaport but old mystic. i loved the shops. my favorite was called the emporium. it was an old house just FULL of wonderful stuff. i'd stock up on my mick rock christmas cards (everyone just couldn't wait to get their card from me). but those days are past i'm sorry to say. i don't even know if the emporium is still around. i sure hope it is. i LOVED the men running it. they were a BLAST)
Dying wish granted by Mystic Seaport for Texas woman
(Mystic-WTNH, Dec. 2, 2006 6:15 PM) _ A trip to Connecticut is a dream come true for a Texas woman.
The 64-year-old grandmother has stage four cancer and only has months to live. One of her last wishes was a trip to Mystic Seaport.
by News Channel 8's Tricia Taskey
It's a dream come true for Sharon Wynn. She wished for a visit to Mystic Seaport.
The Texas grandmother and great grandmother is losing her battle with breast cancer and only has 5 to 8-months left to live.
Today one of her dying wishes is coming true.
"This is awesome. I can't even tell you, I have chills standing here on this ship. It's unbelievable," says Wynn. .........
i think....
the emporium IS STILL OPEN ............... whooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooo
and of course rockshots (adult content)
and as firesign theater says, 'and there's hamburger all over the highway in mystic connecticut'
(every year a very dear (ex) friend and i used to take our winter pilgrimage to mystic. not the seaport but old mystic. i loved the shops. my favorite was called the emporium. it was an old house just FULL of wonderful stuff. i'd stock up on my mick rock christmas cards (everyone just couldn't wait to get their card from me). but those days are past i'm sorry to say. i don't even know if the emporium is still around. i sure hope it is. i LOVED the men running it. they were a BLAST)
Dying wish granted by Mystic Seaport for Texas woman
(Mystic-WTNH, Dec. 2, 2006 6:15 PM) _ A trip to Connecticut is a dream come true for a Texas woman.
The 64-year-old grandmother has stage four cancer and only has months to live. One of her last wishes was a trip to Mystic Seaport.
by News Channel 8's Tricia Taskey
It's a dream come true for Sharon Wynn. She wished for a visit to Mystic Seaport.
The Texas grandmother and great grandmother is losing her battle with breast cancer and only has 5 to 8-months left to live.
Today one of her dying wishes is coming true.
"This is awesome. I can't even tell you, I have chills standing here on this ship. It's unbelievable," says Wynn. .........
i think....
the emporium IS STILL OPEN ............... whooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooo
and of course rockshots (adult content)
and as firesign theater says, 'and there's hamburger all over the highway in mystic connecticut'
more new england christmas beer problems (uh oh)
i'm not a beer drinker (although over the past few weeks shawn has shared a couple i actually WOULD drink. the two i loved are actually from italy. he got them from yup, some italian dudes who were at the half door talking at the beer and game dinner the other weekend. no, i didn't go. i'm VEGAN silly). however, over the years, i have seen some rather questionable names of beers as well as labels. yes santa is a draw to children BUT i also wouldn't have a problem with this label. i think it's rather cute
In this image released by Shelton Brothers, the design for a beer bottle label is shown. In a complaint filed in U.S. District, Shelton Brothers accuses the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement of censorship for denying applications for labels for Santa's Butt Winter Porter and two other beers it wants to sell in Maine. The episode is reminiscent of last year when Connecticut told Shelton Brothers it had problems with its Seriously Bad Elf ale. (AP Photo/Shelton Brothers)
Copyright 2006 Associated Press.
Ho? Ho? Ho? Maine Says No to Santa Label
By CLARKE CANFIELD
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A beer distributor says Maine is being a Scrooge by barring it from selling a beer with a label depicting Santa Claus enjoying a pint of brew.
In a complaint filed in federal court, Shelton Brothers accuses the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement of censorship for denying applications for labels for Santa's Butt Winter Porter and two other beers it wants to sell in Maine.
The dispute recalls a similar squabble last year when Connecticut told Shelton Brothers it had problems with its Seriously Bad Elf ale.
"Last year it was elves. This year it's Santa. Maybe next year it'll be reindeer," said Daniel Shelton, owner of the company in Belchertown, Mass.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, contends the state's action violates the First Amendment by censoring artistic expression.
But the state says it's within its rights. The label with Santa might appeal to children, said Maine State Police Lt. Patrick Fleming. The other two labels are considered inappropriate because they show bare-breasted women........
Saturday, December 02, 2006
i told ya so
it's been going on since well BEFORE blue back. the rents in the center are going up and up and up. many businesses have left and i'm sure many will leave in the future. i've been on the soapbox for years. it's NOT the center i know and USED to like. the cool little shops are going to be taken over by big old chains. nothing wrong with that, just NOT all over MY TOWN. it's full of suv driving designer clothes wearing super duper pedigree dog walking see and be seen it-jits (i'm not saying i'm better, i'm just NOT them). now osaka is gone. i loved that joint
Thriving Center Feeling Pressure Business Rents Jump In West Hartford
By DANIEL P. JONES Courant Staff Writer December 2 2006 WEST HARTFORD -- Osaka, a popular Japanese restaurant, is already gone from West Hartford Center, a casualty of rising rents.Now Max's Oyster Bar, one of the center's premier restaurants and part of the reason for downtown's recent renaissance, is facing the possibility of a significant rent increase - because of what owner Rich Rosenthal says was an innocent mistake in missing a June 30 deadline for extending the lease.No matter how the fight over Max's rent gets settled, the issue magnifies the fact that West Hartford Center is becoming an increasingly pricey place to do business, even before Blue Back Square opens its doors."A customer said it best. The town of West Hartford is going through growing pains. It's becoming a city," said Rich Zacher, who recently relocated his camera and photography store in the center partly because of rising rents."I'm an optimist, but I would say they'll get through the growing pains," he said. "Whether it's good or bad, that's to be seen."Zacher, whose father moved the business from Hartford to West Hartford in 1955, left his South Main Street location in September and relocated to a Dale Street store with a Farmington Avenue address. He acknowledged he moved to a more reasonably priced space not only because of the rent sought by a local landlord when his lease expired but also because of competition from big box stores and the change from film to digital cameras.Still, the rising rents mean the center and West Hartford as a whole are changing, he said.When Osaka's lease expired in September, the building's management firm, Midwood Management Corp. of Manhattan, wanted to nearly double Osaka's rent, according to Paul Lewis, one of Osaka's partners who is also a partner in Szechuan Tokyo, an Elmwood restaurant. Osaka balked at negotiating a new lease - Midwood's starting point for negotiations was $15,000 a month - and left a few weeks ago, Lewis said.............
Thriving Center Feeling Pressure Business Rents Jump In West Hartford
By DANIEL P. JONES Courant Staff Writer December 2 2006 WEST HARTFORD -- Osaka, a popular Japanese restaurant, is already gone from West Hartford Center, a casualty of rising rents.Now Max's Oyster Bar, one of the center's premier restaurants and part of the reason for downtown's recent renaissance, is facing the possibility of a significant rent increase - because of what owner Rich Rosenthal says was an innocent mistake in missing a June 30 deadline for extending the lease.No matter how the fight over Max's rent gets settled, the issue magnifies the fact that West Hartford Center is becoming an increasingly pricey place to do business, even before Blue Back Square opens its doors."A customer said it best. The town of West Hartford is going through growing pains. It's becoming a city," said Rich Zacher, who recently relocated his camera and photography store in the center partly because of rising rents."I'm an optimist, but I would say they'll get through the growing pains," he said. "Whether it's good or bad, that's to be seen."Zacher, whose father moved the business from Hartford to West Hartford in 1955, left his South Main Street location in September and relocated to a Dale Street store with a Farmington Avenue address. He acknowledged he moved to a more reasonably priced space not only because of the rent sought by a local landlord when his lease expired but also because of competition from big box stores and the change from film to digital cameras.Still, the rising rents mean the center and West Hartford as a whole are changing, he said.When Osaka's lease expired in September, the building's management firm, Midwood Management Corp. of Manhattan, wanted to nearly double Osaka's rent, according to Paul Lewis, one of Osaka's partners who is also a partner in Szechuan Tokyo, an Elmwood restaurant. Osaka balked at negotiating a new lease - Midwood's starting point for negotiations was $15,000 a month - and left a few weeks ago, Lewis said.............
a memorial service is planned
for captain jason hamill december 16th at st matthias in east lyme.
i'm sorry he had to come home this way. we all appreciate his service to his country and it's people
Memorial Service For Soldier
Courant Staff Report December 2 2006
A memorial service will be held Dec. 16 to honor the life of Army Capt. Jason Hamill, 31, of the 4th Infantry Division, who was killed Sunday while on duty in Iraq. The memorial service will be at St. Matthias Church in East Lyme at 11 a.m.Hamill's wake and funeral will be this Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in Texas, where Hamill lived with his wife. He will be buried at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.......
i'm sorry he had to come home this way. we all appreciate his service to his country and it's people
Memorial Service For Soldier
Courant Staff Report December 2 2006
A memorial service will be held Dec. 16 to honor the life of Army Capt. Jason Hamill, 31, of the 4th Infantry Division, who was killed Sunday while on duty in Iraq. The memorial service will be at St. Matthias Church in East Lyme at 11 a.m.Hamill's wake and funeral will be this Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in Texas, where Hamill lived with his wife. He will be buried at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.......
yet ANOTHER avon mountain accident
as i've said SO many times, i drove over route 44 for YEARS. had a million close calls myself as well as seeing another million and witnessing MANY accidents. one with a fatality. forget when it snows..................
they did put up more signs. they did add a police-pull-over area. they did try but it's STILL not enough.
if you go over the mountain, please be careful and DON'T BE A DOPE
Another accident on Avon Mountain closes road for hours
(West Hartford-WTNH/AP, Dec. 1, 2006 Updated 10:20 PM) _ Route 44 on Avon Mountain was closed for several hours Friday after a multi-vehicle crash that left a 26-year-old woman hospitalized with serious injuries and sent two others to the hospital.
by News Channel 8's Darren Duarte
The crash happened around 11:00 am between Mountain Road and Deercliff. Police say an eastbound car spun out of control into the westbound lanes and smashed into an oncoming car. A third car went off the side of the road and avoided the accident.
Construction workers nearby heard the crash and called 911.
"I saw a lady sitting in the car, she was bleeding from her head. There was another lady in the bush. There was another who was driving the black car sitting on the ground," Rick Alexander said.
Police shut down Route 44 for hours. Officers have seen too many people hurt or killed on Avon Mountain.........
they did put up more signs. they did add a police-pull-over area. they did try but it's STILL not enough.
if you go over the mountain, please be careful and DON'T BE A DOPE
Another accident on Avon Mountain closes road for hours
(West Hartford-WTNH/AP, Dec. 1, 2006 Updated 10:20 PM) _ Route 44 on Avon Mountain was closed for several hours Friday after a multi-vehicle crash that left a 26-year-old woman hospitalized with serious injuries and sent two others to the hospital.
by News Channel 8's Darren Duarte
The crash happened around 11:00 am between Mountain Road and Deercliff. Police say an eastbound car spun out of control into the westbound lanes and smashed into an oncoming car. A third car went off the side of the road and avoided the accident.
Construction workers nearby heard the crash and called 911.
"I saw a lady sitting in the car, she was bleeding from her head. There was another lady in the bush. There was another who was driving the black car sitting on the ground," Rick Alexander said.
Police shut down Route 44 for hours. Officers have seen too many people hurt or killed on Avon Mountain.........
the white swan
i thought i was dreaming this but in the back of my mind i knew it existed.
from time to time i think about the white swan. this time i checked the net!
i knew i went into the white swan a few times in my younger days. i knew it was wicked cool. i knew i didn't remember a sign out front and i thought that was rather odd. i knew i didn't remember too much about the inside except i liked it.
now i have proof it existed (of course the article isn't exactly about the white swan, it's about park street, BUT it's a start)
A Vision TAKES SHAPE In Park Street Revival
Tom Condon
October 1 2006
The day I moved to Hartford I went to Park Street, to a bar called The White Swan. I loved it - the Swan was no dive -but I also liked the feel and scale of the street and its compact group of businesses. That was more than 30 years ago, and I've been sold on Park Street ever since.Not everyone has shared my enthusiasm; decay and neglect over the years threatened the milelong thoroughfare. In the much-publicized gang troubles of the early 1990s, the term "Park Street" became shorthand for urban pathology (even though there was no gang violence on the street itself, and people kept going to the stores and shops).At the same time, not splashed on the 6 o'clock news, there were people who saw the potential. Pedro de Pedro, head of the Spanish American Merchants Association, believed the street could be the northern equivalent of Miami's Calle Ocho, a cultural and mercantile center for Latinos from several states.Though de Pedro died, way too young, his vision eventually held sway. By the late 1990s, the city and a number of strong nonprofit groups were poised to rebuild the neighborhood. But damage had been done, infrastructure was decaying, housing was being abandoned. Ill-advised demolition had punched holes in the streetscape. It was going to take an enormous amount of work to remake Park Street. It would take a leader who was both practical and visionary. The merchants found such a person when they brought Julio Mendoza over from La Casa de Puerto Rico to head the Spanish American Merchants Association a decade ago.......
from time to time i think about the white swan. this time i checked the net!
i knew i went into the white swan a few times in my younger days. i knew it was wicked cool. i knew i didn't remember a sign out front and i thought that was rather odd. i knew i didn't remember too much about the inside except i liked it.
now i have proof it existed (of course the article isn't exactly about the white swan, it's about park street, BUT it's a start)
A Vision TAKES SHAPE In Park Street Revival
Tom Condon
October 1 2006
The day I moved to Hartford I went to Park Street, to a bar called The White Swan. I loved it - the Swan was no dive -but I also liked the feel and scale of the street and its compact group of businesses. That was more than 30 years ago, and I've been sold on Park Street ever since.Not everyone has shared my enthusiasm; decay and neglect over the years threatened the milelong thoroughfare. In the much-publicized gang troubles of the early 1990s, the term "Park Street" became shorthand for urban pathology (even though there was no gang violence on the street itself, and people kept going to the stores and shops).At the same time, not splashed on the 6 o'clock news, there were people who saw the potential. Pedro de Pedro, head of the Spanish American Merchants Association, believed the street could be the northern equivalent of Miami's Calle Ocho, a cultural and mercantile center for Latinos from several states.Though de Pedro died, way too young, his vision eventually held sway. By the late 1990s, the city and a number of strong nonprofit groups were poised to rebuild the neighborhood. But damage had been done, infrastructure was decaying, housing was being abandoned. Ill-advised demolition had punched holes in the streetscape. It was going to take an enormous amount of work to remake Park Street. It would take a leader who was both practical and visionary. The merchants found such a person when they brought Julio Mendoza over from La Casa de Puerto Rico to head the Spanish American Merchants Association a decade ago.......
there IS a coyote in west hartford
i saw it a while back, VERY early one morning a few streets east of trout brook drive. i saw it the day after another coyote sighting in connecticut made the news. i didn't post it because i didn't think anyone would believe me. now i feel vindicated. and yes i knew it was a coyote. it was about 2:30 am. it was on a side street. she (or he) was in the middle of the road. i knew it wasn't a cat or a fox or a dog. i KNEW it was a coyote. she ran in back of some houses and i drove around but i couldn't find her again.
Coyote On Prowl In West Hartford
Coyote On Prowl In West Hartford
Friday, December 01, 2006
ok whoever stole the toilet
RETURN IT NOW
(yes, this is an ACTUAL news story)
Toilet By Trail Stolen
By LYNN DOAN Courant Staff Writer November 30 2006 WINDSOR LOCKS -- A portable toilet for bikers and hikers along the Windsor Locks canal has gone missing and folks in town are, to say the least, bummed. Town officials, trying to get to the bottom of the $700 toilet's disappearance, have gone to the old Montgomery Co. mill site, where the toilet was stationed. But the culprit, or culprits, didn't leave any clues, said First Selectman Steve Wawruck, who was alerted to the lavatory's disappearance a few weeks ago by its owner, Kevin Carney, who planned to report the theft by today.Wawruck recently went in search of the cream-colored can, which was trimmed with green, but found nothing."There were no marks on the ground indicating it being dragged," Wawruck said Wednesday. "But I'll tell you what, I had to [go to the restroom] while I was there, and I couldn't."The toilet had been inaccessible to hikers since July, when a large fire destroyed part of the mill complex and the town erected a barbed-wire fence around it and the portable toilet to keep folks out of danger............
(yes, this is an ACTUAL news story)
Toilet By Trail Stolen
By LYNN DOAN Courant Staff Writer November 30 2006 WINDSOR LOCKS -- A portable toilet for bikers and hikers along the Windsor Locks canal has gone missing and folks in town are, to say the least, bummed. Town officials, trying to get to the bottom of the $700 toilet's disappearance, have gone to the old Montgomery Co. mill site, where the toilet was stationed. But the culprit, or culprits, didn't leave any clues, said First Selectman Steve Wawruck, who was alerted to the lavatory's disappearance a few weeks ago by its owner, Kevin Carney, who planned to report the theft by today.Wawruck recently went in search of the cream-colored can, which was trimmed with green, but found nothing."There were no marks on the ground indicating it being dragged," Wawruck said Wednesday. "But I'll tell you what, I had to [go to the restroom] while I was there, and I couldn't."The toilet had been inaccessible to hikers since July, when a large fire destroyed part of the mill complex and the town erected a barbed-wire fence around it and the portable toilet to keep folks out of danger............
an inconvenient truth
a screening TONIGHT with al gore
if you're in the area stop on by
Screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring Al Gore, Dec. 1
Connecticut College hosts screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring Al Gore, on Dec. 1 NEW LONDON, Conn. - Connecticut College will host a screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring former Vice President Al Gore, at 7:30 p.m. in Oliva Hall, Cummings Arts Center, on Dec. 1."An Inconvenient Truth," directed by David Guggenheim, offers a passionate and inspirational look at Gore´s fervent crusade to halt global warming´s deadly progress by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. A brief moderated discussion will follow the documentary.This event is sponsored by the Connecticut College Renewable Energy Club, the Coast Guard Sustainability Club and the Coast Guard Film Club. For more information, visit rec.conncoll.edu/films.html.
if you're in the area stop on by
Screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring Al Gore, Dec. 1
Connecticut College hosts screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring Al Gore, on Dec. 1 NEW LONDON, Conn. - Connecticut College will host a screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring former Vice President Al Gore, at 7:30 p.m. in Oliva Hall, Cummings Arts Center, on Dec. 1."An Inconvenient Truth," directed by David Guggenheim, offers a passionate and inspirational look at Gore´s fervent crusade to halt global warming´s deadly progress by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. A brief moderated discussion will follow the documentary.This event is sponsored by the Connecticut College Renewable Energy Club, the Coast Guard Sustainability Club and the Coast Guard Film Club. For more information, visit rec.conncoll.edu/films.html.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
hey sony
or whoever the hell makes playstations why don't you do the RIGHT thing and give michael penkala a playstation 3. he was SHOT waiting in line for one. he was SHOT because he refused to give up his money. i believe i read (somewhere else) he was going to sell the playstations to make some extra money to help his MOTHER out.
sony, give him a playstation or two or three!
the (alleged-since they've not been convicted YET) perps have been caught. they're young. one is 17 years old. they should be taken off of the streets FOR LIFE. 17 years old with a gun. 17 years old and VERY close to KILLING someone. someone innocent
Arrests made in Putnam PlayStation 3 shooting
Putnam-AP, Nov. 28, 2006 Updated 3:50 PM) _ State police today arrested two men who are accused of shooting a Massachusetts man waiting to buy PlayStation 3 videogame consoles in Putnam earlier this month.
William J. Robertson of Woodstock and Andrew Patnaude of Putnam were charged with attempted murder, robbery, assault and other crimes.
The 20-year-old Robertson was arraigned today in Danielson Superior Court. His bond was set at one million dollars and he was ordered to return to court on December 15th.
The 17-year-old Patnaude is scheduled to appear in the same court tomorrow. He also was held on one million dollars bond.
Penkala was shot by two gunmen who tried to steal his cash as he waited outside Wal-Mart in Putnam. He said he dialed 9-1-1 on his cell phone when he saw the gunmen wearing bandanas over their faces and carrying guns.
sony, give him a playstation or two or three!
the (alleged-since they've not been convicted YET) perps have been caught. they're young. one is 17 years old. they should be taken off of the streets FOR LIFE. 17 years old with a gun. 17 years old and VERY close to KILLING someone. someone innocent
Arrests made in Putnam PlayStation 3 shooting
Putnam-AP, Nov. 28, 2006 Updated 3:50 PM) _ State police today arrested two men who are accused of shooting a Massachusetts man waiting to buy PlayStation 3 videogame consoles in Putnam earlier this month.
William J. Robertson of Woodstock and Andrew Patnaude of Putnam were charged with attempted murder, robbery, assault and other crimes.
The 20-year-old Robertson was arraigned today in Danielson Superior Court. His bond was set at one million dollars and he was ordered to return to court on December 15th.
The 17-year-old Patnaude is scheduled to appear in the same court tomorrow. He also was held on one million dollars bond.
Penkala was shot by two gunmen who tried to steal his cash as he waited outside Wal-Mart in Putnam. He said he dialed 9-1-1 on his cell phone when he saw the gunmen wearing bandanas over their faces and carrying guns.
a big loud shout out to:
the hartford courant
a series of articles they published (i believe it was a few months back) led to changes in the military. a step in the RIGHT direction i must say.
Mentally Unfit, Forced To FightMilitary Revamps Policy
By LISA CHEDEKEL And MATTHEW KAUFFMAN Courant Staff Writers November 28 2006
The U.S. military has issued sweeping new mental-health guidelines that expand screening for troops being sent to war and set limits on when service members with psychiatric problems can be kept in combat.The changes include a directive that troops who develop mental health problems during deployments should be sent home if their conditions do not improve significantly within two weeks of treatment.Also, service members who are prescribed psychiatric medications less than three months before deploying will be disqualified from being sent to war unless there is evidence the drugs are working and have no significant side effects.The changes - issued by Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs - are aimed at meeting a congressional mandate prompted by a May series in The Courant that exposed gaps in the military's mental health care system. The series reported that mentally troubled troops were being sent to Iraq and kept there, in some cases with fatal consequences.Winkenwerder had told The Courant last spring that he believed existing mental-health practices were adequate to meet the needs of deploying troops. But in an interview Monday, he said the new policy was an important improvement."The intent is to provide improved and more precise guidance to our clinicians, so that they can make the best possible medical decisions with respect to individuals who might have deployment-limiting psychiatric conditions," Winkenwerder said.............
............The Courant had obtained Defense Department records indicating that service members' mental illnesses were being missed or ignored during pre-deployment screenings. Some of the troops who were deployed with psychological problems later committed suicide in Iraq.The Courant also had reported that some deployed troops were being prescribed potent antidepressants without close monitoring or counseling, and that others who had exhibited clear signs of mental illness were retained in combat.Some family members of soldiers who had psychiatric problems before or during tours in Iraq said they were pleased that the military was changing the way it deals with mental illness...................
a series of articles they published (i believe it was a few months back) led to changes in the military. a step in the RIGHT direction i must say.
Mentally Unfit, Forced To FightMilitary Revamps Policy
By LISA CHEDEKEL And MATTHEW KAUFFMAN Courant Staff Writers November 28 2006
The U.S. military has issued sweeping new mental-health guidelines that expand screening for troops being sent to war and set limits on when service members with psychiatric problems can be kept in combat.The changes include a directive that troops who develop mental health problems during deployments should be sent home if their conditions do not improve significantly within two weeks of treatment.Also, service members who are prescribed psychiatric medications less than three months before deploying will be disqualified from being sent to war unless there is evidence the drugs are working and have no significant side effects.The changes - issued by Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs - are aimed at meeting a congressional mandate prompted by a May series in The Courant that exposed gaps in the military's mental health care system. The series reported that mentally troubled troops were being sent to Iraq and kept there, in some cases with fatal consequences.Winkenwerder had told The Courant last spring that he believed existing mental-health practices were adequate to meet the needs of deploying troops. But in an interview Monday, he said the new policy was an important improvement."The intent is to provide improved and more precise guidance to our clinicians, so that they can make the best possible medical decisions with respect to individuals who might have deployment-limiting psychiatric conditions," Winkenwerder said.............
............The Courant had obtained Defense Department records indicating that service members' mental illnesses were being missed or ignored during pre-deployment screenings. Some of the troops who were deployed with psychological problems later committed suicide in Iraq.The Courant also had reported that some deployed troops were being prescribed potent antidepressants without close monitoring or counseling, and that others who had exhibited clear signs of mental illness were retained in combat.Some family members of soldiers who had psychiatric problems before or during tours in Iraq said they were pleased that the military was changing the way it deals with mental illness...................
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
army captain jason hamill
my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of captain jason hamill. i am so very sorry for your loss and OUR loss as a country
Former state resident killed in service in Iraq
(Salem-WTNH, Nov. 27, 2006 10:35 PM) _ A Salem native serving in Iraq has been killed in a road side bombing.
Army Captain Jason Hamill was winding down his tour of duty and getting ready to go home in less than one week.
by News Channel 8's Annie Rourke
Hamill had survived a year in Baghdad and was killed with one week left before returning home.
His father said his unit had already packed up their things and was ready to go.
Friends and family in Salem are now trying to cope with the enormous loss.
"He died a hero, but I would rather have my friend back," says Sean O'Brien, friend.
Sean O'Brien and Hamill have been life long friends.
O'Brien says there is no one better than 31-year-old Army Captain Jason Hamill..........
jason+hamill iraq army connecticut
Monday, November 27, 2006
i can personally attest to a bunch o' id-jits
playing on deercliff road. years ago, it was not regularly traveled. now it is. it is a short cut between route 44 in avon to farmington avenue (route 4 i think it is but i'm not sure) in farmington (by the health center at any rate). i used to love driving down those roads, deercliff and mountain spring and the others. the houses are HUGE and there are still a lot of woodsy areas. it used to be quiet and nice. when i worked in avon, i would take that drive every once in a while if my head needed clearing. now, i'm almost afraid to go down those twisty roads. afraid of OTHER cars that is
Cars `Fly' A Bump In Avon Tricky Road Is Site Of 3 Crashes In 3 Years
By DANIEL P. JONES Courant Staff Writer November 26 2006 AVON -- For decades, so the local legend goes, teens have driven their cars along Deercliff Road at breakneck speed to get a thrill going airborne over a dip in the roadway.Whether they drove too fast intentionally or were just unprepared for what the combination of speed and the bump might do, young drivers have had spectacular crashes at that spot three times in the past three years.Just ask Iain Sorrell, a Deercliff Road homeowner whose driveway is steps away from the drop-off. He's seen the results of the wrecks, which severely damaged the cars and resulted in motor vehicle charges against the drivers, who walked away with minor injuries.Sorrell and other residents want the town to level that spot in the roadway, and want speeders on Deercliff to slow down."I think people definitely travel too fast on that road," said Dr. Joseph Pavano, another Deercliff Road resident.Avon police say their observations don't show a consistent problem on Deercliff, which runs from Route 44 near the top of Avon Mountain south to the Farmington line."It's not a consistent thing where we can target a specific time, specific day or specific location," said Lt. Rob Whitty, who heads the division that monitors traffic. "It's a road that's not traveled that much.".............
Cars `Fly' A Bump In Avon Tricky Road Is Site Of 3 Crashes In 3 Years
By DANIEL P. JONES Courant Staff Writer November 26 2006 AVON -- For decades, so the local legend goes, teens have driven their cars along Deercliff Road at breakneck speed to get a thrill going airborne over a dip in the roadway.Whether they drove too fast intentionally or were just unprepared for what the combination of speed and the bump might do, young drivers have had spectacular crashes at that spot three times in the past three years.Just ask Iain Sorrell, a Deercliff Road homeowner whose driveway is steps away from the drop-off. He's seen the results of the wrecks, which severely damaged the cars and resulted in motor vehicle charges against the drivers, who walked away with minor injuries.Sorrell and other residents want the town to level that spot in the roadway, and want speeders on Deercliff to slow down."I think people definitely travel too fast on that road," said Dr. Joseph Pavano, another Deercliff Road resident.Avon police say their observations don't show a consistent problem on Deercliff, which runs from Route 44 near the top of Avon Mountain south to the Farmington line."It's not a consistent thing where we can target a specific time, specific day or specific location," said Lt. Rob Whitty, who heads the division that monitors traffic. "It's a road that's not traveled that much.".............
a shout out to my two new friends
daniel and sean.
i was mindin' my own bid-nez (as i am KNOWN for doing) sitting at the bar at the half door yesterday. i stopped by to get brunch, i was STARVING. they whip me up some spuds and sauteed vegetables along with rye toast. anyway, i bring my knitting with me wherever i go (especially since i have to knit at LEAST 30 hats for my department members by christmas). the bar was crowded due to some soccer game (manchester united vs chelsea i think) and i usually take up two seats. one for me and one for my 'stuff'. anyway, i moved my stuff so someone could sit down. turns out it was daniel and his brother sean sat to his right. daniel started to talk to me about my knitting and then he told me HE knit too. at first i didn't believe him, but he mentioned the words 'steeks' and 'rowan' so i KNEW he wasn't lying. as a matter of fact, he ended up showing me a hat he had finished and one he was working on. they were both amazing works. he designs and finishes for a living.
oh and i found out sean is my neighbor, lives just a few houses from me. small world, no?
i was mindin' my own bid-nez (as i am KNOWN for doing) sitting at the bar at the half door yesterday. i stopped by to get brunch, i was STARVING. they whip me up some spuds and sauteed vegetables along with rye toast. anyway, i bring my knitting with me wherever i go (especially since i have to knit at LEAST 30 hats for my department members by christmas). the bar was crowded due to some soccer game (manchester united vs chelsea i think) and i usually take up two seats. one for me and one for my 'stuff'. anyway, i moved my stuff so someone could sit down. turns out it was daniel and his brother sean sat to his right. daniel started to talk to me about my knitting and then he told me HE knit too. at first i didn't believe him, but he mentioned the words 'steeks' and 'rowan' so i KNEW he wasn't lying. as a matter of fact, he ended up showing me a hat he had finished and one he was working on. they were both amazing works. he designs and finishes for a living.
oh and i found out sean is my neighbor, lives just a few houses from me. small world, no?
Sunday, November 26, 2006
'that dude from spinal tap'
outsmarted our secretary of education
the first letter to the editor mentions our fair state so i posted this in my connecticut blog as well as my alternate blog
She lost to (in the words of outraged Wonkette emailers) either “David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap” or “Lenny from Laverne and Shirley”
............Dear Editor,
Last night, I was shocked to discovery that US Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, is a moron. A right-wing zealot who rallies against gays for, well, being gay, and the state of Connecticut for failing to embrace No Child Left Behind (because we all know that when it comes to public education in this country Connecticut is where the problem lies), sure. But an incompetent tart incapable of working a signaling button, unable to divine from a fairly simple clue what is actually being asked, and failing to apply simple logic when wagering on a Daily Double? Again, I was shocked!....................
historic connecticut
do you know how silver lane in east hartford got it's name?
ON THE WAY to join Washington's forces in 1781, The French Main Army under General Rochambeau marched in four divisions through Voluntown, Plainfield, Canterbury and Windham before settling down for an extended period in the town of East Hartford. The elegant French soldiery was followed day after day by sturdy baggage wagons and carts, bearing chests of silver heavily guarded by special elite forces. When the troops reached their main quarters in East Hartford, the silver was stored in the James Forbes House, where the army paymaster drew on the hoard, so tradition says, to pay the soldiers..........
ON THE WAY to join Washington's forces in 1781, The French Main Army under General Rochambeau marched in four divisions through Voluntown, Plainfield, Canterbury and Windham before settling down for an extended period in the town of East Hartford. The elegant French soldiery was followed day after day by sturdy baggage wagons and carts, bearing chests of silver heavily guarded by special elite forces. When the troops reached their main quarters in East Hartford, the silver was stored in the James Forbes House, where the army paymaster drew on the hoard, so tradition says, to pay the soldiers..........
the letter is back
unfortunately not only did i never know it was gone, i never knew it existed
oh, and the alice books are two of my absolute favorites of all time
Yale's Lewis Carroll Letter Ends Up On eBay
By KIM MARTINEAU Courant Staff Writer November 26 2006 NEW HAVEN -- A letter Lewis Carroll wrote to a friend in 1890 has taken police down a rabbit hole into the world of eBay, a marketplace overflowing with treasures, from Mad Hatter pins to Cheshire Cat mugs. But let the buyer beware: On eBay, as in Wonderland, things are often not as they seem.The letter Carroll penned to his friend Winifred MacDonald from his summer house on the coast of England surfaced on eBay earlier this year. "Hand written and beautifully signed," the vendor enthused. "Guaranteed authentic." The letter was genuine, all right, as the collector who bought it came to discover. Trouble was, someone else owned it: Yale University.After a friend spotted the letter on the Internet, a librarian at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library checked the stacks. Sure enough, Carroll's letter, addressed to "My Dear Winnie," was missing. Through eBay, police tracked the letter to a collector in Utah who had purchased it for several thousand dollars. When the collector learned the item belonged to Yale, he graciously handed it over. The letter is now safe at the Beinecke once more and police are trying to re-create its journey in a pursuit that could prove as maddening as the hunt for Carroll's elusive Snark."Tracing it back all the hands it has gone through since it left Yale - that's going to be the difficult part," said Lt. Mike Patten, a spokesman for the Yale University Police Department.Charles Dodgson, better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was a math teacher and ordained minister who dreamed up the children's classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and such mythical creatures as the Jabberwock and Snark.Before Carroll came along, tales for kids were dull and humorless, with moralistic story lines, said Mark Burstein, vice president of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America and a book editor in Petaluma, Calif. Carroll injected joy and playfulness...............
Saturday, November 25, 2006
connecticut tale of the day
the green lady of burlington
THE PRESENCE OF a benign and beautiful female ghost haunting the town cemetery in rural Burlington has been verified not only by the many area residents who have sighted her in the past thirty years, but also by Ed and Lorraine Warren of Monroe, Connecticut's best-known and most indefatigable ghost hunters. Known throughout the Avon-Burlington-Simsbury region as the "Green Lady of Burlington," this restless spirit always appears in the form of a greenish mist, but with a well-defined body and a soft, pretty face lighted by an enigmatic smile.
Perhaps because of her generally happy features, quiet ways and non-threatening actions, stories about the Green Lady usually contain some imaginative explanation of her continuing presence in the town cemetery and speculation about her identity. Also, because she may be Connecticut's most boring ghost, her legends are almost always endowed by the story-teller with elements of violence or catastrophe, using motifs well-known by folklorists to "migrate" from one supernatural legend to another. So far as they can be reasonably established, however, her identity and motivations remain a total mystery. She just materializes unexpectedly, glows green for a time, smiles her sweet smile and then disappears..........
picture: trekearth.com
Friday, November 24, 2006
willie pep
do you know who he was? i sure do. my father is a fight fanatic. i even have a small black and white picture of willie on my living room wall. i personally don't care to actually watch boxing. i think it's barbaric. yet, i'm drawn to it. can't explain it........
Former Boxing Great Willie Pep Dies At Age 84
By TERRY PRICE Special To The Courant November 23 2006
Willie Pep, a fighter for the ages, now belongs to the ages.Regarded by many as the greatest featherweight boxer of all time, Pep died Thursday at West Hill Convalescent Home in Rocky Hill, according to his grandson, William P. Papaleo of Farmington. He was 84.Pep, considered not only a great featherweight but also one of the best fighters pound-for-pound in history, had been in failing health. He had advanced Alzheimer's disease, family members said in September, when Pep was honored during a boxing event at the Connecticut Convention Center.A child of the Depression, Pep fought his way up from the rough streets of Hartford to the top of the boxing world.Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, Pep commanded the ring with a mercurial style that often left opponents grasping at air and spectators gasping in disbelief."He was a moonbeam," said boxing historian and author Bert Randolph Sugar. "You couldn't catch him. ... Pep was music in the ring. People were rhapsodic over him."Pep captured the featherweight championship on two occasions. His total of 230 career wins is believed to be the largest in the history of boxing. He lost only 11 fights with one draw and scored 65 knockouts.Pep, nicknamed "Will o' the Wisp," fought from 1940 to 1966. He won his first 63 pro fights. After his first loss, he was unbeaten in his next 73 fights. His record after 137 fights was 135-1-1................
photo: news.bbc.co.uk/.../images/_1468722_pep150.jpg
Thursday, November 23, 2006
happy thanksgiving
i wanted to link to an article by robert jensen, phd professor at the university of texas. he wrote it last year
i know others (yes, you rick) may disagree. i see it more from mr jensen's point of view. while we have MANY things to be thankful for (and believe me i am), we also have many things we must reflect upon. the sins of my father are NOT my sins but i also do not wish to commit those very same transgressions.
No Thanks to Thanksgiving
By Robert Jensen, AlterNetPosted on November 23, 2006, Printed on November 23, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/44661/
One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.
In fact, indigenous people have offered such a model; since 1970 they have marked the fourth Thursday of November as a Day of Mourning in a spiritual/political ceremony on Coles Hill overlooking Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, one of the early sites of the European invasion of the Americas.
Not only is the thought of such a change in this white-supremacist holiday impossible to imagine, but the very mention of the idea sends most Americans into apoplectic fits -- which speaks volumes about our historical hypocrisy and its relation to the contemporary politics of empire in the United States.
That the world's great powers achieved "greatness" through criminal brutality on a grand scale is not news, of course. That those same societies are reluctant to highlight this history of barbarism also is predictable.
But in the United States, this reluctance to acknowledge our original sin -- the genocide of indigenous people -- is of special importance today. It's now routine -- even among conservative commentators -- to describe the United States as an empire, so long as everyone understands we are an inherently benevolent one. Because all our history contradicts that claim, history must be twisted and tortured to serve the purposes of the powerful.
One vehicle for taming history is various patriotic holidays, with Thanksgiving at the heart of U.S. myth-building. From an early age, we Americans hear a story about the hearty Pilgrims, whose search for freedom took them from England to Massachusetts. There, aided by the friendly Wampanoag Indians, they survived in a new and harsh environment, leading to a harvest feast in 1621 following the Pilgrims first winter. ...........
tomorrow (or perhaps this weekend), i am going to post a series of stories (4 in total) from the los angeles times. it deals with what we did on some reservations in the 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s into today. how we allowed the land to be raped but beyond that, we left toxic waste. how when the very same toxic waste was discovered in a town in colorado (grand junction) the government paid for a TOTAL clean up. how those huts on the reservations are STILL stewing in toxic goo with many deaths and diseases thrown in.
once again, happy thanksgiving
i know others (yes, you rick) may disagree. i see it more from mr jensen's point of view. while we have MANY things to be thankful for (and believe me i am), we also have many things we must reflect upon. the sins of my father are NOT my sins but i also do not wish to commit those very same transgressions.
No Thanks to Thanksgiving
By Robert Jensen, AlterNetPosted on November 23, 2006, Printed on November 23, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/44661/
One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.
In fact, indigenous people have offered such a model; since 1970 they have marked the fourth Thursday of November as a Day of Mourning in a spiritual/political ceremony on Coles Hill overlooking Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, one of the early sites of the European invasion of the Americas.
Not only is the thought of such a change in this white-supremacist holiday impossible to imagine, but the very mention of the idea sends most Americans into apoplectic fits -- which speaks volumes about our historical hypocrisy and its relation to the contemporary politics of empire in the United States.
That the world's great powers achieved "greatness" through criminal brutality on a grand scale is not news, of course. That those same societies are reluctant to highlight this history of barbarism also is predictable.
But in the United States, this reluctance to acknowledge our original sin -- the genocide of indigenous people -- is of special importance today. It's now routine -- even among conservative commentators -- to describe the United States as an empire, so long as everyone understands we are an inherently benevolent one. Because all our history contradicts that claim, history must be twisted and tortured to serve the purposes of the powerful.
One vehicle for taming history is various patriotic holidays, with Thanksgiving at the heart of U.S. myth-building. From an early age, we Americans hear a story about the hearty Pilgrims, whose search for freedom took them from England to Massachusetts. There, aided by the friendly Wampanoag Indians, they survived in a new and harsh environment, leading to a harvest feast in 1621 following the Pilgrims first winter. ...........
tomorrow (or perhaps this weekend), i am going to post a series of stories (4 in total) from the los angeles times. it deals with what we did on some reservations in the 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s into today. how we allowed the land to be raped but beyond that, we left toxic waste. how when the very same toxic waste was discovered in a town in colorado (grand junction) the government paid for a TOTAL clean up. how those huts on the reservations are STILL stewing in toxic goo with many deaths and diseases thrown in.
once again, happy thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
they're whippin' 'em out at bradley international airport
in my home state! i am SO disturbed by this. NOT by the breastfeeding but by people ANYONE, even if it's ONLY ONE PERSON, thinking it's 'disgusting' or 'unnatural' OR the worst, 'SEXUAL'. to the women out there who breastfeed, i've got your back sista grrrlfrens. (not judging those who DO NOT breastfeed. i'm just saying anyone should be 'allowed' to breastfeed anywhere one is 'allowed' to take a baby)
Breast-feeding moms hold protest against Delta
Windsor Locks-WTNH, Nov. 21, 2006 Updated 12:32 PM) _ Nursing mothers are showing their support for one another in airports across the country. Their so-called "nurse-in" is in response to what they call intolerance by Delta Airlines.
by News Channel 8's Jodi Latina
Within eyesight of the Delta ticket counter at Bradley International Airport Kristy Levesque of Groton nurses her two month old daughter Naomi.
"My heart just broke for her. I just put myself in her shoes and was like, oh my gosh, what would I do if that was me," she said.
Levesque is talking about a recent incident aboard a Delta Connection commuter flight from Vermont to New York. Emily Gillette, 27, a breast feeding mom just like her, was asked to cover up or get off the plane. Gillette refused and, baby in tow, was taken off the plane.
"I was really disturbed," Levesque said.
So Levesque and six other moms joined forces today to publicly hold a nurse-in near the Delta terminal. Lactating moms at a dozen airports around the country also joined in protest.
"I'm not gonna stand up here and take off my shirt. It's about feeding my baby," Susan Parker of Glastonbury said while holding her ten month old Anna.........
previously: you can whip 'em out and more more more on whippin' 'em out
Breast-feeding moms hold protest against Delta
Windsor Locks-WTNH, Nov. 21, 2006 Updated 12:32 PM) _ Nursing mothers are showing their support for one another in airports across the country. Their so-called "nurse-in" is in response to what they call intolerance by Delta Airlines.
by News Channel 8's Jodi Latina
Within eyesight of the Delta ticket counter at Bradley International Airport Kristy Levesque of Groton nurses her two month old daughter Naomi.
"My heart just broke for her. I just put myself in her shoes and was like, oh my gosh, what would I do if that was me," she said.
Levesque is talking about a recent incident aboard a Delta Connection commuter flight from Vermont to New York. Emily Gillette, 27, a breast feeding mom just like her, was asked to cover up or get off the plane. Gillette refused and, baby in tow, was taken off the plane.
"I was really disturbed," Levesque said.
So Levesque and six other moms joined forces today to publicly hold a nurse-in near the Delta terminal. Lactating moms at a dozen airports around the country also joined in protest.
"I'm not gonna stand up here and take off my shirt. It's about feeding my baby," Susan Parker of Glastonbury said while holding her ten month old Anna.........
previously: you can whip 'em out and more more more on whippin' 'em out
i'm not quite sure
where this dude (da liebs chose) is coming from. i know i ain't gonna trust no day-um one who was a (former) spokesperson for a conservative christian organization (even though he is jewish. odd, no?)
Lieberman hires former Christian Coalition spokesman as new communications director
Filed by Brian Beutler and Ron Brynaert
Two weeks after winning reelection as an independent due to losing Connecticut's Democratic primary, Joe Lieberman has hired a former spokesman for the Christian Coalition as his new communications director, RAW STORY has learned. The new hiree also formerly served as a senior fellow at the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a legislative director for the conservative Heritage Foundation, and as communications director to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Fifty-two year old political pundit and activist Marshall Wittmann is very popular with Washington journalists because he often "gives good quote," according to a Washington Post profile from earlier this year.
"He's been a Trotskyite, a union organizer, a lobbyist, a government bureaucrat, a think tank cogitator, an aide to Sen. John McCain and -- despite the fact that he's Jewish -- the official spokesman for the Christian Coalition," Peter Carlson wrote for the Post. "Which raises a perplexing question: Why the hell would anybody listen to the political thoughts of a guy knuckleheaded enough to get mixed up in movements formed by both Leon Trotsky and Pat Robertson?"
Wittmann explained at the time that he may possess "an extra contrarian gene."..........
Lieberman hires former Christian Coalition spokesman as new communications director
Filed by Brian Beutler and Ron Brynaert
Two weeks after winning reelection as an independent due to losing Connecticut's Democratic primary, Joe Lieberman has hired a former spokesman for the Christian Coalition as his new communications director, RAW STORY has learned. The new hiree also formerly served as a senior fellow at the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a legislative director for the conservative Heritage Foundation, and as communications director to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Fifty-two year old political pundit and activist Marshall Wittmann is very popular with Washington journalists because he often "gives good quote," according to a Washington Post profile from earlier this year.
"He's been a Trotskyite, a union organizer, a lobbyist, a government bureaucrat, a think tank cogitator, an aide to Sen. John McCain and -- despite the fact that he's Jewish -- the official spokesman for the Christian Coalition," Peter Carlson wrote for the Post. "Which raises a perplexing question: Why the hell would anybody listen to the political thoughts of a guy knuckleheaded enough to get mixed up in movements formed by both Leon Trotsky and Pat Robertson?"
Wittmann explained at the time that he may possess "an extra contrarian gene."..........
congratulations west hartford!!!
pretty cool going. i'm proud of us.
Voter Turnout Is Tops, Again
By FULVIO CATIVO Courant Staff Writer November 21 2006 WEST HARTFORD -- Nearly 70 percent of registered voters here cast ballots on Election Day, the best turnout among large towns in Connecticut, the secretary of the state announced Monday. The feat earned West Hartford the 2006 Democracy Challenge Cup, the fifth time the town has won the award since the competition began in 2000."We're thrilled," town Republican Registrar of Voters Eleanor M. Brazell said, shortly after being told the town had won the competition again. "West Hartford does have an excellent voter turnout ... because I feel that this town cares."In all, 69.4 percent or 26,401 out of 38,044 voters in town cast ballots Nov. 7. West Hartford outpaced similar-size municipalities in voter participation - in Middletown, 62.7 percent of voters cast ballots, and 62.5 percent voted in Hamden.Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz praised voters in West Hartford, along with other towns that won the Democracy cup this year, for getting out to the polls. The Nov. 7 election marked the highest statewide voter turnout for a midterm election since 1994, Bysiewicz said.In a written statement issued by the secretary of the state's office, Mayor Scott Slifka also commended town voters..........
Voter Turnout Is Tops, Again
By FULVIO CATIVO Courant Staff Writer November 21 2006 WEST HARTFORD -- Nearly 70 percent of registered voters here cast ballots on Election Day, the best turnout among large towns in Connecticut, the secretary of the state announced Monday. The feat earned West Hartford the 2006 Democracy Challenge Cup, the fifth time the town has won the award since the competition began in 2000."We're thrilled," town Republican Registrar of Voters Eleanor M. Brazell said, shortly after being told the town had won the competition again. "West Hartford does have an excellent voter turnout ... because I feel that this town cares."In all, 69.4 percent or 26,401 out of 38,044 voters in town cast ballots Nov. 7. West Hartford outpaced similar-size municipalities in voter participation - in Middletown, 62.7 percent of voters cast ballots, and 62.5 percent voted in Hamden.Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz praised voters in West Hartford, along with other towns that won the Democracy cup this year, for getting out to the polls. The Nov. 7 election marked the highest statewide voter turnout for a midterm election since 1994, Bysiewicz said.In a written statement issued by the secretary of the state's office, Mayor Scott Slifka also commended town voters..........
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
made a quick stop at
sit-n-knit sunday.
got more stash (not that i need it). i'm obsessed with knitting hats for my department (for holiday gifts). they're quick AND easy! i have to make about 30 of them (for the department alone). the only problem is; i bring my knitting with me everywhere and people just keep asking me for hats so i have to add them to the list. they'll have to go to the BACK of the list now (cathy and lk excluded. they're in the front.)
(some: nashua ivy, rowan tweed, noro kureyon, suss fantasy, candia, impressions, sheep one, malabrigo and some great adarondiak caribou sock)
here's a couple i've completed. well completed the KNIT part that is. they need to be blocked (yeah, right like that's going to happen) and have the ends woven in (you can't really see all the yarn streamers, they're all tucked inside the hats. i have a habit of leaving WICKED LONG TAILS).
Monday, November 20, 2006
welcome back charlie company
thank you for serving but damn thanks for coming home more! my thoughts and prayers are for those who didn't come home
Back From Fallujah, Looking For Normal
By JESSE HAMILTONThe Hartford Courant November 19 2006 SOUTHINGTON -- Here, the Marines seem younger, the years scrubbed from their faces, no trace of Fallujah on immaculate dress uniforms.Like Rip Van Winkle's nap in reverse, the weary men of Charlie Company closed their eyes in Iraq and awoke a few weeks later in a sparkling Connecticut ballroom - well-dressed warriors returned to their prom days.At the annual Marine Corps birthday ball, they fetch drinks for dates in formal gowns, and they joke with their buddies, and the evening glows. But it's not so easy to trade their war for lighter hearts. Not all have lowered their weapons or dropped their armor since returning to Connecticut in late October. Fallujah is still fresh, and it's hard for some to believe they have made it home.The Marines' celebration is a surface thing, like the fancy uniforms dripping with new medals. Under that surface still breathes that ruined city in the desert and the marks it left on the Plainville-based troops from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines.Beneath the left sleeve of Lance Cpl. Lino Torres' dress blues, a fresh tattoo on reddened skin - four names of men who won't grow any older. Beneath Lance Cpl. James Lauber's right pant leg, the stitched wreckage of his leg, dotted with angry scars. Beneath almost 23 years worth of medals on 1st Sgt. Ben Grainger's chest, a heart condition that almost separated him from his men. Almost.And from beneath the lifted glasses, the shouted stories and the dance music, four names surface again and again. Christopher B. Cosgrove III. Kurt Dechen. Brian Letendre. And Jordan Pierson. Talk never strays far from the four who didn't survive Iraq.Every Marine left something in Fallujah. Every Marine brought something home.................
Back From Fallujah, Looking For Normal
By JESSE HAMILTONThe Hartford Courant November 19 2006 SOUTHINGTON -- Here, the Marines seem younger, the years scrubbed from their faces, no trace of Fallujah on immaculate dress uniforms.Like Rip Van Winkle's nap in reverse, the weary men of Charlie Company closed their eyes in Iraq and awoke a few weeks later in a sparkling Connecticut ballroom - well-dressed warriors returned to their prom days.At the annual Marine Corps birthday ball, they fetch drinks for dates in formal gowns, and they joke with their buddies, and the evening glows. But it's not so easy to trade their war for lighter hearts. Not all have lowered their weapons or dropped their armor since returning to Connecticut in late October. Fallujah is still fresh, and it's hard for some to believe they have made it home.The Marines' celebration is a surface thing, like the fancy uniforms dripping with new medals. Under that surface still breathes that ruined city in the desert and the marks it left on the Plainville-based troops from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines.Beneath the left sleeve of Lance Cpl. Lino Torres' dress blues, a fresh tattoo on reddened skin - four names of men who won't grow any older. Beneath Lance Cpl. James Lauber's right pant leg, the stitched wreckage of his leg, dotted with angry scars. Beneath almost 23 years worth of medals on 1st Sgt. Ben Grainger's chest, a heart condition that almost separated him from his men. Almost.And from beneath the lifted glasses, the shouted stories and the dance music, four names surface again and again. Christopher B. Cosgrove III. Kurt Dechen. Brian Letendre. And Jordan Pierson. Talk never strays far from the four who didn't survive Iraq.Every Marine left something in Fallujah. Every Marine brought something home.................
cool connecticut project and web site of the day
wall of america
the mural project is in sharon and the final resting place of the mural itself will be in winsted. i tried to download a picture or two for your viewing pleasure, but they're flash and won't download. you'll just HAVE to stop by the website yourself
the mural project is in sharon and the final resting place of the mural itself will be in winsted. i tried to download a picture or two for your viewing pleasure, but they're flash and won't download. you'll just HAVE to stop by the website yourself
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