The kids are here! Including Justin's fiancée - I mean very special girlfriend - Kacey. Welcome to KY! I think a fall wedding is planned but who knows after this visit? :)

Have Ya Ever Wondered?

It seems like just about every week I get an email regarding boycotts because of something a company or a person has done or statistics that always surprise you when you see who or what the statistics are about. Snopes Dot Com is a good place to go and see if it's true. I got an email the other day telling me to boycott Target because it's French owned and doesn't support veterans, etc. Not true. Then I got an email about how many of our Congressman have been arrested, bankrupt, can't get credit cards, drunk driving, etc. Turns out that one's partially true, according to SNOPES anyway. Just thought I would provide a friendly public service for you. Have a nice day.

Diversity Training Backfires

The city of Denver is showing its employees a diversity training video that portrays a white man as a narrow-minded buffoon — triggering allegations of "institutional racism" against Anglos.
"Right now, their diversity program is racially motivated against white males," said Dennis Supple, a heating, ventilating and air-conditioning mechanic who has worked for the city 1 1/2 years.
The video, titled "Laughing Matters — Think About It," is meant to show employees how humor at the expense of others diminishes respect in the workplace.
The character who breaks all the rules is Billy, a white, blue-collar worker who's a racist, sexist goofball.
In one scene Billy is told that another employee named Carlos can't do anything because he's waiting for supplies.
"What's his problem?" Billy asks. "He can't sell breakfast burritos without the supplies or he takes a siesta?"
Supple said the video violates his civil rights and that he's considering taking the equity in his house to file a lawsuit to stop the city from showing it.
"Diversity, to me, doesn't mean hammer the white guy," Supple said. "Diversity means you have respect for everyone, regardless of their race, their gender, their religion, their sexual orientation."
COMPLETE STORY

Great Comedian...

If you ever get a chance, go see Thor Ramsey. I booked him into West Palm twice for Comedy Nights. Not only a nice guy but very funny. WEBSITE Click on "Video Clips."

For The Man Who Has Everything

Twendy-One, a robot designed to help the elderly and disabled people around the house, demonstrates serving food at Waseda University in Tokyo November 27, 2007. Twendy-one was designed by robotics researchers at Waseda University to have human-sized four-fingered hands cabable of picking up and holding delicate objects without crushing them.
They say it's a Japanese robot but it doesn't look Japanese to me. Anybody remember Rosie from the Jetsons?

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda...we should be 10-2 - not 7-5

KY should actually be 10-2. We should have beat South Carolina, Miss State, and Tennessee. We should be 10-2 and believe it or not we were actually in positions to beat FL & Georgia. Our losses drove me nuts because we were good enough to win. It's one thing to watch a game and know you're going to lose because you're just out-manned but it's something entirely different to watch a game and lose it and know you should have won. That's enough to make your blood pressure rise quickly. It was hard enough for me, a fan, to watch some of our losses and know we coulda, shoulda won if we woulda done just a few things differently. But I can't imagine how Rich Brooks must feel. Coaching a team like KY has got to be tough. We're almost there, but not quite or are we there? I don't know. KY football has sure shown improvement the last 2 years. It's interesting that a 7-5 season would be a disappointment but it is...ask Rich Brooks. I would have probably had a stroke if I was him. But we're going bowling again - probably in Nashville again for the Music City Bowl (We beat Clemson last year 28-20) or in Memphis for the Liberty Bowl. We'll take what we can get but it "shoulda" been better!
2007 Football Schedule
Eastern Kentucky W, 50-10
Kent State - W, 56-20
Louisville - W, 40-34
Arkansas - W, 42-29
Florida Atlantic -W, 45-17
South Carolina - L, 38-23
LSU - W, 43-37 (3OT)
Florida - L, 45-37
Mississippi State - L, 31-14
Vanderbilt - W, 27-20
Georgia - L, 24-13
Tennessee - L, 52-50 (4OT)

The Leftovers Are Tremendous!

Hope ya had a great thanksgiving. I know we did. It was great having Rick here and Mom sure can cook! The leftovers are as good as the originals.

Before....and AFTER

West Tradition - Thanksgiving Notes

Since we're a bit spread out this year; here's how it works. Post something you're thankful for throughout the day on Thanksgiving via the comment section and I will add your note in the jar. For example, there are 51 notes of thanksgiving in the jar and as new notes are added, more notes will show up in the jar. See how it works? We have much to be thankful for.

Quick Assimilation

It took less than 30 minutes after my brother Rick arrived in Lexington for him to be fully assimilated into the Big Blue Bluegrass culture. He discovered the new KY sweatshirt we had for him in the guest room and was drawn to it immediately. Now..we're ready to watch the Cats destroy Liberty tonight after their embarrassing loss to...to....to...Gardner Webb two weeks ago. The Liberty coach said the game tonight is like "the kid next to you throwing a ball at another kid on the playground and missing him and hitting the bully. The bully turns around and sees you because the other kid took off and he swears you threw the ball even though you didn't. It could get ugly." Let's hope so. It's great having Rick here for Thanksgiving. He's going through a divorce he never asked for and is handling it in an admirable way. We're thankful for him and the lessons he's teaching us as he goes through a very difficult season in his life.

KY Bounces Back!

KENTUCKY 80, LIBERTY 54
Patrick Patterson became the first Kentucky freshman in six years to score at least 20 points and grab 10 or more rebounds in a game.

A Fan

fan [fan] –noun -
an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.: a baseball fan; a great fan of Charlie Chaplin.
[Origin: 1885–90, Americanism; short for fanatic]
—Synonyms supporter, enthusiast, partisan, booster, addict.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
(SEE PICTURE ABOVE)
A fan stays with their team through thick and thin. It's been a real roller coaster recently for us KY fans. KY Basketball - New basketball coach = extreme joy with anxiety. KY Football - we beat Louisville, Arkansas and LSU = a fanaticism like we have never experienced in football. Basketball - Big Blue Madness and a strong exhibition season = extreme level of excitement in anticipation. KY Football - a "disappointing" loss to FL as we actually had a shot of beating them. KY Basketball - the most embarrassing loss in UK basketball history as we lose to...to...to...Gardner Webb = confusion, loss of confidence and uncertainty. KY Football - terrible showing against Miss. State in a loss - good win at Vandy but another "disappointing" loss at Georgia = "which team will show up?" Both sports running like roller coasters, simultaneously, is almost more than a fan can take right? Wrong...we can take it - we're fans! I have had my doubts and not always been as supportive as I should be...but dang it! I'm a fan! a UK fan! I'm with ya Cats, through think and thin! Go Cats! I can cope (I think) bring it on!

Can Ya Smell It?

What are some of your favorite foods at Thanksgiving? This is our first Thanksgiving without the kids but my brother Rick will be here and we're really looking forward to that. He loves Pecan pie. Is it pronounced "pee-can" or "pa-con?" I say "pa-con." Pa-con pie. I like the dressing.

Publicity Stunt? I Know For A Fact It Wasn't Intended To Be

The senior pastor has turned down "numerous" interview requests from the media.
Church's outreach gets mixed reviews
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears HERALD-LEADER.COM - Lexington, KY
As SOUTHLAND CHRISTIAN sends out the first of several hundred letters it collected for Britney Spears, the congregation is receiving worldwide praise and some criticism for its decision to love the troubled pop star "the way Jesus loves her." REST OF ARTICLE

ASHLAND, KY. -- A man wearing a ski mask held up an eastern Kentucky ice cream store with a stapler - and briefly got away with $175. Ashland Police Capt. Don Petrella said he didn't know if Rocchi planned to shoot staples at the shop's employees or use it as a blunt instrument if he didn't get the cash. It didn't come to that because the employees handed over the cash, Petrella said.
BTW - This is the same town that produced the infamous DUCT TAPE BANDIT

Our Cat "Chubs" Loves To Eat

I Had A Dream...And My Life Passed Before Me

Actually this is a photo collage Mary put together about 3 years ago when we were running from South Florida hurricanes. We could grab this one big collage and go and not worry too much about pictures. We have it in our den now and I love it. It's a great reminder of how quickly life can pass us by. (click on photo to enlarge)

Never!!

Fart in a wetsuit.

Veterans Day 07 - Thank You!

NBC Has Gone Green (For a week) Whatever That's Supposed To Prove

I think it proves NBC has an agenda; make $$ for GE...their parent company.
NBC - owned by GE - has begun a "Green is Universal" campaign. There is apparently a relationship between this marketing effort and GE's Ecomagination.
General Electric, among others, Easterbrook says, is the company best-poised to benefit from global warming, with interests in everything from clean-coal technology to water treatment.

KY Beats Vandy On & Off The Field

There's a happy coach after a very frustrating game. I watched the tape delay at 6:00 this morning (After 2 large cups of coffee)and was on the edge of my chair the whole game. Mary steered clear of the den as I began shouting at KY's defense as if they could hear me. KY won 27-20 despite 122 yards in penalties and goes to 7-3 on the year. If you look over Brook's shoulder you will see some blue clad fans. From the shots I saw of the stands, I would say KY had more than 20,000 fans in Nashville and the attendance was 39,773. KY HAD to win this game because next are 2 teams playing their best football of the year - Georgia & Tennessee. The Southeastern Conference is brutal but KY is guaranteed a decent bowl. Go Cats! Nice job Rich Brooks.

A Very Special West Welcome To A New Commentator! Give It Up For Ted West!

Welcome to West World Ted! Looking forward to unique insights from the world's finest photographer! That brings the grand total number of commentators to this blog to... 4. I can hardly keep up with it all.

What's In Larry's Coffee?

Global Warming Update

"It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus" says John Coleman, the founder of The Weather Channel.

What The Heck Happened?

I received some emails today regarding KY's catostrophic loss last night to....to....to Gardner-Webb? They all had the same subject line. "What the heck happened?" It was an extememly difficult game to watch. This state has accepted Biil G with open arms and I hated to see them lose because I really like Billy. I've never been one to say "it was a good loss" but this time, I believe the timing to lose like this is unique. Now, the brand new coach has the attention of his brand new team. He tried to warn all of us that this team could beat us. Nobody listened, especially not his team. We'll be fine. Go Cats!

United States of Fear...as defined by the media.

We live evermore in the United States of Fear. We are entertained by it. Titillated by it. Distracted by it. And we have learned to move as media move, together like birds in a flock, attention changing constantly and for no apparent reason. Already, fear of staph is fading. Tomorrow there will be fear of something else. REST OF ARTICLE

Gillispie asks for crushing blow; Patterson delivers, then some.

I'll say it again...he's for real. KY will be fotunate if he stays more than 2 years. He says he plans on staying for 4 but he's only played 2 exhibition games and it's easy to already tell; Ky has someone special in Patrick Patterson. "Freshman" Patrick Patterson had 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and was a perfect 6-6 from the field as the Wildcats defeated Seattle, 82-63, at Rupp Arena Saturday night in the second and final exhbition.