ITS A FULL MOON TONIGHT...

I think this is the "Hunter's Moon".
Thought I would share this image of the Moon rising over my servant's quarters.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

After Monday and Tuesday...

Even the calendar says W-T-F

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DON'T FORGET...

You get an extra hour of sleep tonight.

At 2:00 AM, it becomes 1:00 AM again

Daylight Savings Time ends tonight.

Yup.  We're back on "Standard Time" again.

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"Let's all be careful out there!"

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE LOCATION?

HINT: Taken from the ISS

"Let's all be careful out there!"

IT'S ELECTION DAY -

Election Day, November 2, 2010

Vote early - Vote often.

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Special thanks to Lugosi for posting this:

NOW You Get Mad?!?!

We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, now you get mad!?!?

• You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
• You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
• You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got ousted.
• You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
• You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
• You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.
• You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq .
• You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
• You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
• You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
• You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
• You didn't get mad when we let a major US city drown.
• You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
• You didn't get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage which cost over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides.
• You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our total national debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar ($13,000,000,000,000.00) mark.

You FINALLY got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are perfectly fine with you, but helping your fellow American citizens live healthier lives.... That's where you draw the line.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

All-Time Worldwide Box office (TOP 100)

As of 20-OCTOBER-2010 (IMDb) (NO ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION)

Rank Title (Year of Release) Worldwide Box Office
1.      Avatar (2009) $2,780,339,004
2.      Titanic (1997) $1,835,300,000
3.      The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1,129,219,252
4.      Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $1,060,332,628
5.     Toy Story 3 (2010) $1,058,144,168
6.     Alice in Wonderland (2010) $1,023,285,206
7.    The Dark Knight (2008) $1,001,921,825
8.    Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $968,657,891
9.    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) $958,404,152
10.  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) $937,000,866
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) $933,956,980
12. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $922,379,000
13. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) $921,600,000
14. Jurassic Park (1993) $919,700,000
15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) $892,194,397
16. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) $887,773,705
17. Spider-Man 3 (2007) $885,430,303
18. Shrek 2 (2004) $880,871,036
19. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $866,300,000
20. Finding Nemo (2003) $865,000,000
21. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $860,700,000
22. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) $848,462,555
23. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) $835,276,689
24. Inception (2010) $811,451,947
25. Independence Day (1996) $811,200,000
26. Spider-Man (2002) $806,700,000
27. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) $797,900,000
28. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) $795,458,727
29. Shrek the Third (2007) $791,106,665
30. Spider-Man 2 (2004) $783,577,893
31. The Lion King (1994) $783,400,000
32. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $783,011,114
33. 2012 (2009) $766,812,167
34. The Da Vinci Code (2006) $758,236,138
35. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $756,700,000
36. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) $738,809,845
37. The Matrix Reloaded (2003) $735,600,000
38. Shrek Forever After (2010) $731,071,987
39. Up (2009) $727,079,556
40. Transformers (2007) $700,759,914
41. New Moon (2009) $687,919,304
42. Eclipse (2010) $681,123,113
43. Forrest Gump (1994) $679,400,000
44. The Sixth Sense (1999) $661,500,000
45. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) $653,200,000
46. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $648,200,000
47. Kung Fu Panda (2008) $633,395,021
48. The Incredibles (2004) $624,037,578
49. Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) $623,829,763
50. Hancock (2008) $623,546,274
51. Iron Man 2 (2010) $616,757,433
52. Ratatouille (2007) $615,935,493
53. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) $614,300,000
54. The Passion of the Christ (2004) $604,370,943
55. Mamma Mia! (2008) $601,204,210
56. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) $594,082,968
57. War of the Worlds (2005) $591,377,056
58. Casino Royale (2006) $587,607,184
59. Men in Black (1997) $587,200,000
60. I Am Legend (2007) $583,986,216
61. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $572,700,000
62. Iron Man (2008) $571,827,600
63. Night at the Museum (2006) $571,063,268
64. Quantum of Solace (2008) $569,968,427
65. Armageddon (1998) $554,600,000
66. King Kong (2005) $547,051,260
67. Mission: Impossible II (2000) $545,300,000
68. Home Alone (1990) $533,800,000
69. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $533,800,000
70. WALL·E (2008) $532,506,889
71. Monsters, Inc. (2001) $528,900,000
72. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) $527,939,919
73. The Simpsons Movie (2007) $525,532,370
74. Sherlock Holmes (2009) $518,419,489
75. Ghost (1990) $517,600,000
76. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) $516,800,000
77. Aladdin (1992) $501,900,000
78. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) $494,800,000
79. Twister (1996) $494,700,000
80. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) $492,387,997
81. Clash of the Titans (2010) $491,592,114
82. Angels & Demons (2009) $485,975,846
83. Toy Story 2 (1999) $485,700,000
84. Troy (2004) $481,228,348
85. Saving Private Ryan (1998) $479,300,000
86. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) $471,856,431
87. Jaws (1975) $470,600,000
88. Pretty Woman (1990) $463,400,000
89. The Hangover (2009) $461,613,371
90. Bruce Almighty (2003) $458,900,000
91. 300 (2006) $456,592,590
92. The Matrix (1999) $456,300,000
93. Gladiator (2000) $456,200,000
94. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) $455,260,014
95. Shrek (2001) $455,100,000
96. Cars (2006) $454,752,771
97. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) $453,961,501
98. Mission: Impossible (1996) $452,500,000
99. Pearl Harbor (2001) $450,400,000
100. Ocean's Eleven (2001) $444,200,000
Last update: 20 October 2010

All of these (plus over 1,600 more) are available for free viewing at my other website:

HOME THEATER CENTER

"Let's all be careful out there!"

The God Who Wasn't There

Another look at the fallacy and falsehood of the Christian mythology.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DO UNTO OTHERS*

AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU

*exceptions:

• Jews
• Catholics
• Muslims
• Buddhists
• Taoists
• Hindus
• Atheists
• Pagans
• Blacks
• Mexicans
• Asians
• Africans
• Oceanians
• Eastern Europeans
• French
• Irish
• Germans
• Native American
• Caribbeans
• Latin Americans
• People poorer than me
• People richer than me
• Any one who believes that the First Amendment [Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances] applies to anyone other than a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Christian.
• Any belief more liberal than Baptist.
• Any belief more conservative than Pentecostal.
• Gays (excluding "lipstick" lesbians)
• Mormans
• Communists
• Socialists
• Democrats 
• Any one who doesn't exactly agree with all my opinions

I know this will help me get into Heaven. The Bible told me so.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

The Earth at Night

A NASA composite image of Earth at night.
Because of the light pollution, all of you in the bright areas have never truly seen the night sky.
What a shame.

You can view/download the full sized image HERE.
It will open in a new tab or window, depending on how your browser is set.

An interesting note:

The amount of light is a very good indication of the industrial strength of a region or country.

Back in 2001, everybody was saying "let's bomb them into the 'stone-age'" when referring to Afghanistan.

Uh, duh. They were/are in the stone-age.

Closer examination will also show you just how weak Kim Jung-Il's North Korea (DPRK) is.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Do you think god smokes cannibis?

"Let's all be careful out there!"

SATURN

This is a mosaic of quite a few images, stitched together to produce this magnificent portrait. The Sun is behind the disk of Saturn, and you can see the rings lit up on the sides, but in silhouette against the disk itself.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

The Brain sees the science

But the eyes see the sci-fi

Shooting a laser at the sky

This image, released on Sept. 6, shows a laser beam shooting up from the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The laser beam is used as a guide for the observatory's adaptive-optics system, which compensates for unsteadiness in the atmosphere to produce sharper astronomical images. (Y. Beletsky / ESO)

"Let's all be careful out there!"

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - On a Clear Summer's Night

"Let's all be careful out there!"

AMBER ALERTS really do work -

Concerned citizen helps free kidnapped Fresno girl

Police say the 8-year-old, who was abducted Monday while playing outside her home, had been sexually assaulted. The suspect, Gregorio Gonzalez, 24, was on felony probation. An unemployed construction worker spotted Gonzalez's truck and gave chase.

By Diana Marcum, Los Angeles Times
October 6, 2010

Reporting from Fresno —

An 8-year-old girl, kidnapped from her yard by a stranger — the object of an intensive overnight search — was returned to her mother alive Tuesday after a dramatic rescue by a quick-acting unemployed construction worker.

"It's truly a miracle of God that she is with us…we certainly beat the odds," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

The third-grader and a 6-year-old friend were playing in the driveway in front of their apartment complex about 8:30 Monday evening, when a man, whom police later identified as 24-year-old Gregorio Gonzalez, told them he would buy them gifts if they came with him..

Neighbors who saw the man talking to the children shouted at the girls to run. Gonzalez allegedly grabbed the 8-year-old and forced her into an older rust-colored Chevrolet pickup truck with white stripes.

The girl's mother and a neighbor, Enrique Miguel, followed in his car.

"I saw that same truck around here for days," Miguel said. "We chased and chased but lost him."

Authorities issued an Amber Alert, which quickly escalated to a statewide bulletin about a small girl last seen wearing a purple "Winnie the Pooh" sweatshirt. About 130 officers were put on the case, and helicopters scanned the city. Alerts flashed on freeway signs and appeared during television shows.

Everyone working through the night knew the clock was ticking. Dyer would later point out in a news conference that most kidnapping victims are killed within the first 24 hours.

Just down the street from where the girl was kidnapped, Victor Perez was discussing the story with his neighbor.

"He was saying, 'Man, what could we have done different to keep that from happening?' I was saying, 'We've just got to keep a lookout for that truck.' "

On Tuesday morning, the first thing Perez did was turn on the TV to see if there was anything new in the case. Police had released surveillance camera footage of the truck. As Perez and his cousin Flor Urias watched the grainy black-and-white images, Urias looked out their living room window and saw an old rust-colored pickup with stripes making a U-turn in front of their house.

"I was saying, 'Victor, that sure looks like that truck. Is that the truck? That is the truck,' " Urias said.

But Perez was already out the door giving chase in his 1988 Ford pickup, which he always backs into his driveway so he can leave quickly if he needs to.

The first time he caught up to Gonzalez, Perez waved and rolled down his window as though asking for directions.

"I told him, 'Hey man, let me ask you something.' He said he couldn't talk, his battery was about to die. I said 'I have [jumper] cables.' And I'm thinking, 'Maybe it's not him, he seems like a friendly guy.' Then while we were still talking he sped away."

Perez caught up and forced Gonzalez to the side of the road. Gonzalez threw his hands over his head in anger.

He had been holding the little girl down. When his hands shot up, her head popped up over the dashboard and Perez saw her.

"I made eye contact with her. And that's when I wasn't scared anymore," Perez said. "I won't kid you, until then I'd thought 'Does this guy have a gun?' But once I met her eyes, I just thought 'I've got to get that little girl out of there.' "

Gonzalez sped off, at one point driving on the sidewalk.

Perez kept trying to force Gonzalez to the side of the road, finally pulling his truck directly in Gonzalez's path. His plan was to rush the driver's door. But Gonzalez pushed the girl out the passenger-side door and fled.

The girl's first words to Perez were, "I'm scared."

"I said "You're OK now.' Oh, man, she was shaking so bad. She kept saying 'Am I going to be OK?' and I kept saying 'You're OK now.' "

Police say the girl told them Gonzalez took her to a wooded area near a canal where he sexually assaulted her and at one point threatened to "physically harm" her if she did not get back in the truck. Seven witnesses identified Gonzalez. Some witnessed the kidnapping; others witnessed an incident earlier Monday when he allegedly exposed himself to two young girls and then got away in the same truck.

Gonzalez, who lives with his grandparents, had previously been arrested on charges of possession of a sawed-off shotgun and domestic violence. He was on felony probation. About 40 minutes after he pushed the girl out of his truck, he was spotted in central Fresno by California Highway Patrol Officer Dustin Dimmer and taken into custody.

As Perez was chasing Gonzalez, her mother was home after a night at the police station, sobbing uncontrollably. Miguel, the neighbor who had helped her chase the kidnapper, could hear her through the thin walls.

Then, through the walls, he heard a phone ring. She came next door to tell him her daughter was alive.

"She was crying and crying all night," he said. "Then suddenly, hope. I was afraid there was no hope, but there was."

metrodesk@latimes.com

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Henry James Silas Swartzburg

Please read Momma's full account of his birth

HERE

"Let's all be careful out there!"

FOOD for THOUGHT

Thanks to Lugosi for this

"Let's all be careful out there!"

The Circle of Life

Phone calls can generally be assigned into three categories: MUNDANE, GOOD, BAD.

Yesterday I got one each in the latter two.

Princess Leah (Wisker's sister) and Pete the Prince had a 6.3 pound /19 inch baby boy.  Big sister Queen Nora is ecstatic, she now has a baby brother.  Henry James Silas was a little early but not in as much of a rush as Nora was a few years back.  No further details are available.

My son also called to inform me that one of his good friends died overnight Wed/Thu.  Marlene was a contemporary of his and I had known her since her late teens.  She had some major medical issues that she dealt with bravely and quietly.  A single mother, it was her 12yo daughter who found her.  She apparently passed quietly in her sleep.  R.I.P.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

The Beauty of Photography

These three images make me think of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy

The first one is from BC and the other two are from India.

Assorted images from Antarctica

Ice-breaker USS Atka in Antarctica

"Let's all be careful out there!"