OK, so I bought a ticket.
It was only a buck.
Did I simply fall for the amazing power of the line "You can't win if you don't play."
Maybe.
And the wonderful staff at the Krauszer's in West Haven (near corner Forest Road) did not even laugh at me.
Heck, they had already sold an estimated 1,500 tickets by the time I walked in and bought one.
Why do we do this when - and I am just quoting news I heard on the radio - we are more likely to get hit by lighting than to win this ridiculously big $640 million jackpot.
(One of my students told me we are actually more likely to get hit by lighting on the same day than to win this prize)
So why do we play?
Fantasy, I suspect.
The best part for me is that the fantasies I have been overhearing are from people who would have one big idea in mind for all that money: Helping others.
So my advice to the person who wins? Forget the Ferraris, reject the Rolex and demand no diamonds.
People are what is important.

I love Alicia Silverstone.
That, of course, means I am an Alicia Silverstone fan.
I don't know her. We're not Facebook friends and I don't even follow her on Twitter. (At least not yet)
But I loved "Clueless" back in the day and a couple things she has done since then.
Who knew I would ever think of the eagle mama (below), however, when learning news about Alicia.
Alas, Alicia is in the headlines and it's because she is being compared to a mother bird when it comes to childcare. She is apparently chewing food for her (very cute) baby, whose name is Bear, and spitting it into his mouth, according to theage.com, and, well, numerous other news sources.
To note that folks think this is a strange habit would be an understatement.
But here she is (thank you Hollywood Gossip:

Alicia says on her blog: "He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if I’m eating."
And here's what I have to say about that: Who cares?
So it's a little weird.
There is not one among us who has not fed our children off a spoon or fork we were eating from, and I have read that's how mouth bacteria ends up in all of our mouths. Thanks mom.
But in the long wrong, in a world where people still obnoxiously object to mothers breast feeding babies in public, I am glad this quirky habit of a woman who lives "The Kind Life" has attracted some attention to a vegan!
Not so clueless after all.

Vegetarian Pumpkin Butternut Soup
You will need:
1 can, 15 oz. pumpkin
1 box organic vegetable stock
1 large onion, diced
olive oil
20 oz. pre-peeled butternut squash, cut in squares
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 cups water
1 garlic clove
dash nutmeg

**************

Boil squash cubes until tender. Drain and set aside. In a pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the water, vegetable broth, drained squash and canned pumpkin. Boil mixture. Reduce heat and simmer. Process half of the soup in a blender, and return it to the soup. Sprinkle each bowl of soup with nutmeg before serving.

Too cool not to share:
Saw this on on Twitter thanks to Julie at East Haven Patch tweet of Huffpo site and nabbed embed, it's headlined 'Hatch Watch 2012" and features a mama eagle sitting on her nest, brought to everyone by the Raptor Research nest cam and Decorah Fish Hatchery.

It's addicting. Happy hatching mama bird!



Broadcasting live with Ustream

Hope everything here is correctly attributed and linked! Let me know if it's not and I will fix! Photo is from www.nhregister.com and is courtesy of the Audubon Shop  to the New Haven Register.

OK, so I'm not a Kardashian watcher.
I have glimpsed the show, I admit, but my offspring who had it on in my house shall remained unnamed.
Sorry, Kardashians, no offense, but I'm just not a reality TV kind of gal.
None of us however, are outside the orbit of knowing this family is big news.
So of course when Kim Kardashian got hit with a flour bomb Friday, according to numerous news reports, including the Associated Press, it spread fast.
And according to a Reuters story, this is a trend, this throwing of things at people. Whatever your view is on any issue, we should not throw things at each other. Not nice, I say.
But it is Kim Kardashian's reaction I am commenting here on.
The AP story says she cleaned the flour off and went back to her event.
To that I say: Well done you. I am not so sure grace under pressure would have been possible for me in that circumstance.
Video courtesy The Hollywood Gossip

The Associated Press reports today that: "President Barack Obama called the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in a Florida suburb a 'tragedy' on Friday and said that 'every aspect' of the case that has rallied civil rights activists should be investigated."
Of course it's a tragedy.
Trayvon's parents started a petition seeking the prosecution of the shooter.
Further, the president said, also quoted in the AP story, "If I had a son he'd look like Trayvon."
The president was careful to try not to say anything he felt would impair this very important investigation; it is now on the national stage.
He correctly said soul searching needs to be done to find out exactly how something like this happened.
However,  I also would like to add that when I think about Trayvon, just like the president, I also think about my own kids. And Trayvon's mother.
I am not in law enforcement, I am not a judge.
But in fact, when we look at Trayvon, we should all see our child's face in his.
The tragedy, again, is immense. This slideshow, sent to me by Matt DeRienzo, brought tears to my eyes.

Here is the NBC video:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I am not sure I ever had an Etch A Sketch.
But I always wished I did. (My kids did, but I was not prone to playing with one by then)
There was something so brilliant about a device that would allow you to create or 'sketch', as it were, and then with a quick shake make it all go away. (Truth be told, I am no artist!)
But if you recall, like I do from my kids' version of the device, there often were times when the "toy" reached a certain point of use that shaking did not quite take away the image you had sketched.
There's the rub.
Like an Etch A Sketch, this comment by a Romney campaign adviser (CNN story) does not seem to be going away.
According to many news stories, the adviser used the Etch A sketch reference in a remark about the campaign starting all over at some points, the Christian Science Monitor reports, when it comes to taking on Obama in the fall.
Just like an Etch a Sketch screen where the images stick permanently after a time,  this comment is sticking out in news stories about the campaign.

Here's the video.

One of my kids laughed when I asked what the "Hunger Games" are.
Am I hopelessly out of touch? (Who isn't, really?)
But then she told me the story of this story.
Can you say "Logan's Run"?
Did I give too much away?
Probably not.
Anyone who is going to see this movie already knows the story. It's a true food fight. Meets reality TV.
The film "has sold more advance tickets than any other non-sequel, says Fandango," according to John Young at insidemovies.ew.com.
Good for Lions Gate.
But I am curious about the popularity of a story in which people must fight to the death for food.
People across the world already are starving every day. Their stories are rarely really told.


Photo courtesy of hungergames.uk downloads

The New York Times is reporting today that "A grand jury will hear evidence next month in the fatal shooting" of teenager Trayvon Martin.
Meanwhile, the 911 call made by the man who shot and killed Trayvon has been released.
It is posted here, for all to hear.
It is very difficult to hear.


The FBI and Department of Justice also are investigating the case. The shooter has not been arrested.
The 911 call is, of course, not the only evidence they will see and hear.
But does it provide a window to what occurred when an unarmed teenager went to the store to buy Skittles?
The tragedy here is immense.

 Associated Press photo is of Trayvon.

Have you seen the news story about Amelia Earhart: and the new search for her plane?

The Associated Press is reporting that Hillary Clinton is supporting the search. The story says: Clinton is scheduled to meet with "historians and scientists from The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, which is launching a new search in June for the wreckage of Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane off the remote island of Nikumaroro, in what is now the Pacific nation of Kiribati. Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared July 2, 1937, while flying from New Guinea to Howland Island."

Fascinating.

Even cooler? Photos from that era that show "Lady Lindbergh" in her day. Check it out here.

And here is AP's This day in history video - it also touched on Amelia. Photo credit also to AP

Give me a break.
Charlize Theron as a wicked queen? Since when do wicked queens look like that?
We all know wicked witches are green so shouldn't wicked queens be a little less lovely than Charlize?
But that's not my real issue here.
I'm all for kick ass heroines who learn to kick to save themselves.
That's apparently a theme in this upcoming film that everyone is talking about.
But when will we get past expressions such as 'snow white'?
It's a clear reference to virginity and therefore insulting in it's own way as it appears to exalt her virginity.
I am also all for everyone approaching sex in a responsible way, but in 2012 do we still need to place a woman in a special place due to her sexual status? Call her a name connected to sexual status?
Woman are sexual beings just as much as men. Everyone knows it, so why do we cling to these archaic themes?
It seems a story hatched by the Brothers Grimm still has some staying power when it comes to that.
My hope for this film is that the war between the young beauty and the queen is more about politics or power issues than in is about who is sexually active and cute.

Is it possible to be a "Mindful Carnivore", read as a "lapsed vegetarian makes peace with fleshy food" as this writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.com wonders?

I think the important points she makes comes right at the end.

I am so very grateful to my friend and co-worker Angela Carter for sharing a link to CNN's story about slavery in Mauritania.
I had seen the story and was aware of the terrible news it would contain; I had not yet clicked on it to read it.
But when Angi shared it on Facebook, there it was before me and there was no more postponing reading it.
To described it here in detail not only would take away from what CNN did, but would also denigrate the utter humanity of it.
Read it.
Be rightly horrified. Be inspired.
Learn from it.
My point in posting it here is not simply to provide another conduit for it to be spread, but to laud my friends and co-workers for being those who share the news we need.
When a respected person shares a story, it helps us to focus on it - the weight of that person's concern also adds weight to our choices.
Thank you Angi.

It's almost the first day of spring! And what was I doing on this lovely, sunny morning in these parts?
No, I was not out for a walk or basking in the the warmth of the day.
I was getting my flat tire fixed. Nix, that - I was getting my flat tire replaced. (read earlier post about said flat tire - which the first place I took it to said it had nothing wrong with it.)
Wrong - it was going flat again today - which I noticed on the way to work. Sigh.
Off to Town Fair I went. All better now.
But meanwhile, why not get out and enjoy this lovely day -put aside thoughts of rising sea levels and climate change - at least for a few moments.
P.S. In case you did not recall, it's spring tomorrow, according the Capital Weather Gang blog on the Washington Post's website because "...the sun’s rays will shine directly overhead at the equator, which results in about 12 hours of daylight and darkness at all latitude."
Happy days!
And if you send me spring photos, I will share them here!

Why are there two "Frozen Planet" shows? This one has Sir David Attenborough - the new one has Alec Baldwin, I've read.



And why the heck are polar bear cubs so darned cute when they would only grow up to eat you?

He loves us; he loves us not.
Whoops, wrong daisy test
In the case of this Daisey, should it be we trust him; we trust him not?
HuffPo writer  Chelsea Carmona says in a story with the headline "Busted: Mike Daisey Caught Red-handed" that his "apology wasn't quite as convincing" as the one given by the public radio program Daisey allegedly duped over what he saw of conditions at an Apple factory in China.
No one is having a fun time with this one.
NPR posted on its site that it was "retracting a story based on Mike Daisey's monologue, "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" ... because further reporting "turned up fabrications in Daisey's story." What a bummer this is for the station; I feel terrible about it. Here is more of what was said.


This is apparently what Daisey had to say about it and its theatrical nature in The Guardian.
Art or journalism. how does this happen?

I don't know.
But I do know that in a local market for local news any exaggeration or misrepresentation would get called as a foul right away. The public - and rightly so - are our watchdogs. When  it comes to our newsrooms, other transgression - thankfully few and far between - also are not tolerated. The regrettable instances of plagiarism in Connecticut this past year were met by Journal Register Co. Connecticut Group Editor Matt DeRienzo with the right action: the writers were fired.
Here's Matt's  blog on  fact-checking and accountability. The system is designed to provide openness.
And every online story has these words at the end: See inaccurate information in a story? Other feedback and/or ideas for us to consider? Tell us here.

And we mean it. If we did not get something right, we want to know about it.
 

The New Haven Public School's TAG program will present  “Thelonious Sphere Monk, The Man and His Music,” featuring his son “T.S. Monk and the T.S. Monk Sextet,” will begin at 6 p.m. May 5 at Yale University’s Woolsey Hall, 500 College St.
General Admission for adults is $20; $5 for students; with VIP tickets $30 for adults and $15 for students.
VIP tickets include meet and greet with T.S. Monk, with proceeds to benefit the Columbus House and New Haven Reads, Nubian Sisters Cancer Support Group, Varick Church Soup Kitchen/Food Pantry.
Ticket Venues venues include Scoop This 180 Amity Road, Woodbridge; Varick AME Zion Church, 246 Dixwell Ave, New Haven; Dixwell/Yale Community Learning Center, 101 Ashmun St., New Haven; Custom Tee’s 365 Whalley Ave, New Haven; Executive Touch 1600 Southeast Road, Farmington; and credit card purchases at www.jazzhaven.org
The event is sponsored by Yale University Office of New Haven and State Affairs; New Haven Public Schools. Educational Services provided by Thelonious Monk Foundation, of New York, N.Y.
For more information contact: Marcella Monk Flake, marcella_flake@yahoo.

Pretty great. More on Prometheus later.
Why great?
Because when I was driving through downtown New Haven Saturday, a fellow motorist took the time to pull up alongside me and tell me I had a flat tire. And it was St. Patrick's Day.
 Ugh.
So after a quick drop off of one daughter, another daughter and I had to pull in a block later to the parking lot at the corner of College and George.
It sure was flat.
What to do? Hubby could not be reached; a tow would cost God knows how  much. ($150 or more?)
So then super woman (daughter of steel) has an idea: Ask the folks at College Street Cycles to borrow a bike pump.
They let us borrow it, no questions asked and with only a promise to bring it back!
Hilarity ensued -  (ever try to pump up a car tire with a bike pump?) but we got it inflated in about 15 minutes - and got the bike pump back to the shop before it closed! Then off for the big fix...thank you!
So kids, look around - there's a lot of unpleasant acts taking place in this world; but good people abound too.
Now to Prometheus - who apparently was the god of forethought.(get the connection?)
Further, however, there's a movie coming out by the same name and lots of cinephiles are positing that it is an "Alien" sequel.
What do you think?




File photo is by Melanie Stengel

Anderson Cooper sure got a good laugh when Bethenny Frankel 'accidentally' bared her bottom on his show.
Kind of a cute moment; I have to admit that when Anderson laughs (most of the time) I can't help laughing too. Sometimes he's quite mean - not my style - but I still find myself mostly unable to resist his laugh.
And I have no objections to bottoms - heck we all have them, right? (And Bethenny, you know it looked good)
Neither, I might add am I shocked by the sight of a breast (without them humans would not exist) so Janet Jackson's little moment a few years ago brought no gasps from me.

But are wardrobe malfunctions really ever an accident?

You decide:

Everyone is!

Our own Brian McCready even says it's making him lazy!

"Each March I take the first two days of March Madness off," Brian said in his Milford Matters blog. "I love the idea of 24 hours of basketball, win you and move on, lose and your done"

Got a hankering for something green on Saturday?

Here's a recipe for Shamrock cookies and not just any Shamrock cookies.

These are double decker Shamrock cookies. Get the frosting out!

And b'gosh and begorrah, while we're at it, why not share the shamrock shale recipe too! Boingboing got it going on with a recipe you can make at home!

So Slainte one and all! (And maybe think about a stop at Anna Liffey's in New Haven)

Wow. Meghan McCain told People Magazine "I love sex and I love men."

She made it clear, the story said that she is "not a lesbian."

She also tells the LA Times "The Envelope" blog: 'You’re nobody unless you have a gay rumor.'

It seems like the daughter of Arizona Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain has a lot to say and people are paying attention. Though reports are that a Playboy spread does not include her with her clothes off.

But my question is: Why do we have to be so clear about our sexual orientation? Does it really make a difference?

OK. So my husband watched Dark Shadows.
He talks about what were likely titillating terror-filled afternoons as a kid when the show was on way before the sun went down.
I am just young enough to have missed it. Plus my mother hardly ever let us watch TV. Sigh.
Seems a little creepy and over sexed to me, anyway but heck have you seen what still plays on soap operas during the day?
We had one on on the newsroom big screen the other day (no sound and on for only news breaks!) and my boss called out 'don't look' when a kid passed through the room. And I heard the 'B' word on a network show that was on for all of a minute it my house the other night. Gross.
But I digress. Back to the undead.
What's not to love about the undead? And yes, I have been utterly in love with Steven Moyer since HBO launched "True Blood."  (Speaking of sexy)
Yet various machinations of blood sucking lovers have always captivated us for generations long before the handsome lot from Bon Temps drew us to Louisiana.
So fast forward from the 60s and Barnabas Collins is back.



A blog on the HuffPo says "Depp brings just the right bit of eccentricity" to the role.

Be still my heart.

The movie opens May 11.

The Associated Press reported today that: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken out of his home in handcuffs Thursday by federal agents.

Here's a look at what that looked like.

Is that what "high, high hopes for the future" look like?

I was born in March so the fact that we need to beware anything in this month has never set right with me.

But according to this post on the Washington Post, I might have to change my mind. Might, I add.

So yeah yeah yeah Julius Caesar met his end that day - but should superstition reign?

I am not superstitious - I even love the number 13.

But should I beware the Ides of March? Would that not depend on what occurs today? Or would what occurs today simply be a coincidence?

Good and bad things happen every day.

Maybe I'll check back in on this tomorrow.

Meanwhile, have you celebrated the other happy event in March? To get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit (and I will herein lay claim to my Scanlon and Lynch grandmother, also a Helen and rather a bad ass on her own - see photo at right for proof) check out this great slideshow.