Picture a Day

For 18 years Jamie Livingston kept a record of every day of his life, but this was no ordinary journal.

Livingston, a New York City-based cinematographer, amassed thousands of Polaroid photos, taken each day of his life during those years, and a collection of the photos has been posted online by friends for people to see and experience, according to a report by MyFOX National.

Many of the photos were of friends. The subject sometimes was as ordinary as a smile, a window or a household item. Another was taken on his wedding day.

Livingston's friend Risa Mickenberg told MyFOX National the photos are an essay on life.

"'Photo of the Day' is a work of light, color, laughter, pain, travel, beauty, wonton soup, afternoons, coffee, hanging out, love, life in its entirety," she said.

Livingston was born in New Jersey on Oct. 25, 1956, and died in New York City 41 years to the day in 1997.

In 1978 at Bard College he began to take photos with his Polaroid camera, according to MyFOX National. After a few weeks he realized he had taken almost an image a day. He then began to earnestly take one photo a day and continued the project until his death.

"It's the masterpiece we all create," Mickenberg said. "It's just that Jamie thought to take its picture."

I heart avocados.

I love avocados and eat them on/with everything. I have already told Jon avocados will be a staple in our kitchen, but they are so darn expensive.
Today I did a little research on growing an avocado tree. You can actually grow a tree right from the pit in you avocado at home. Here are the directions.
I also found these avocado facts to be interesting:
*Avocados contain just 5 grams of fat per serving.
*The name 'Avocado' originates from the Aztec name ahuacacuauhitl meaning testicle tree!
*Avocados contain 60% more potassium per ounce than bananas.
*There is documented evidence that animals such as cats, dogs, cattle, goats, rabbits, birds, fish and particularly, horses can be severely harmed or even killed when they consume the avocado leaves, bark, skin, or pit.

"...we all believe in God, guts, and guns."

BUTLER, Mo. — Salesmen at one Missouri car dealership aren't just kicking in a free CD player or factory air: They're offering a free handgun with every purchase.

Through the end of the month, car buyers at Max Motors in Butler will have a choice — $250 toward either a gun purchase or gasoline.

General manager Walter Moore said that so far, most buyers have chosen the gun, adding that he suggests they opt for a semiautomatic model "because it holds more rounds."

(In the fine print, the ad on the Web site explains, "Check written toward purchase price" and also mentions, "Approved Background Check REQUIRED!!")

Moore said he suspects his "Free Handgun" ad will draw protests in some places. But not in Butler, about 65 miles south of Kansas City.

Moore said, "Down here, we all believe in God, guts and guns."

right brain

We were discussing left and right brain thinking at pre-marital counseling last night. I had no idea if I was right brain or left brain...until tonight. I took a left/right brain quiz. I was 12% right and 7% left. Here's another interesting test.

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

And your astrological sign always has interesting things to say about your personality. I'm an aquarius.

BOLO

BOLO (bo-lo) in police lingo is Be On the LookOut (sure you know this).

Carlene and I have sent emails back and forth with lists of things The Pope and I will need to make our new house a home, or just plain livable. I wanted to share the comprehensive list with all of y'all just in case anyone of you have perfectly good not-currently-being-used junk lying around. Or you might just get a kick out of seeing what kind of stuff we're going to decorate with.

By the way, never ask The Pope to stop the car so you can pick perfectly good not-currently-being-used junk off the side of the road. He gets really embarrassed for some reason and will leave you there with the stuff.

So here's our list....
3 or 4 barstools (2 for bar, 2 for blue high table)
2ish nice (non-particleboard-y) bookcases
masculine 4 post bed (like pic from World Market)
dresser with mirror (non matching mirror is ok too)
jute area rug
desk and chair
outdoor furniture (table and 4 chairs)
porch swing
2 chairs for "sitting area" in master bedroom
grill

You might be thinking, "why do two kids just starting out need outdoor furniture or a grill?" Well, again, I just want to put our list of "dream furniture" out there into blog space.....you never know what might come back.

181 officers made the ultimate sacrifice in 2007

The 181 officers who died during 2007 ranged in age from 19 to 76; the average age was 39. The officers averaged just over 11 years of law enforcement service.
Six times during 2007 more than one officer was gunned down in the same incident, including the fatal shooting of three Odessa (TX) Police officers who responded to a domestic disturbance call in September. In 2006, there was only one such multiple-death incident.
Among the 83 officers killed in traffic-related incidents during 2007, 60 died in automobile crashes, 9 in motorcycle accidents, and 14 were struck and killed by another vehicle while outside their police vehicles.
Forty states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands all lost officers during 2007.
Texas, with 22, had the most line- of-duty deaths last year, followed by Florida (16), California (10), and Louisiana (9).
The states with the most officers’ names on the Memorial are California (1,435), Texas (1,386), New York (1,298), Illinois (939), and Ohio (733).
Seventeen members of federal law enforcement died in the line of duty during 2007, a dramatic increase from the 2006 total of five.
Among the 2007 fatalities were six members of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and seven members of U.S Customs and Border Protection/U.S. Border Patrol.
With 181 deaths, 2007 was the 37th most deadly year for law enforcement in U.S. history. The deadliest year was
1930, when 279 officers died.

For more facts and figures, visit the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Please be safe and never be complacent.

wedding update

So we have moved reception site locations. The aquarium, although amazing, was too expensive for us. Our reception will now be at the Carolina Shag Club. It's gonna be great, like a big party.
AND...someone bought our first gift from one of our registries! Yay! I get a husband and lots of cool gifts, too.
For our honeymoon The Pope and I are going on a cruise with Royal Caribbean. Our calls of port are Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel.
I am ready to be married. I am ready to be with The Pope all the time. I am SO tired of leaving his apartment at night and sleeping by myself. I'm ready for my best friend to be my roommate.