Grains of pollen photo

Pollen comes in many forms and sizes. The diameter of a pumpkin pollen grain (at center) is as thick as a dollar bill. The tiny speck at its lower right is a grain of forget-me-not pollen.From National Geographic.

Have a nice life

Isn't it interesting how close "have a nice day" is to "have a nice life".

Elephant lifting a man by his head

Try to imagine what that must feel like.

I think this photo is amazing. It defies the chaos of the universe!

Famous people who attended Bard College

A few famous people who attended Bard College:



Chevy Chase, class of 68

 

Adrian Grenier

Larry Hagman

Blythe Danner, class of 65

Alexandra Wentworth

Christopher Guest

Walter Becker and Donald Fagan of Steely Dan

Peter Sarsgaard

Gaby Hoffman, class of 03

Lady Gaga and Russell Brand look like who?

something I saw in Entertainment Weekly

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman smooching

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Notorious (1946 ) 
(via The Actor's Image)

Valentine's Day kissing

kissing collage

Final scene from the film Cinema Paradiso (1988) - lots of kissing. 

One year in 40 seconds

Marriage joke

Two fellas are fishing in a boat under a bridge.
One looks up and sees a funeral procession starting across the bridge.
He stands up, takes off his cap, and bows his head.
The procession crosses the bridge and the man puts on his cap, picks up his rod and reel, and continues fishing.
The other guy says, "That was touching. I didn't know you had it in you."
The first guy responds, "Well, I guess it was the right thing to do - after all, I was married to her for 40 years."

Short film starring Kurt Russell, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning

Cutlass (2007) is a 16 minute short written and directed by Kate Hudson. It stars Virginia Madsen, Kurt Russell, Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Chevy Chase.
Plot: When Robin's daughter Lacy wants to buy an expensive guitar, Robin reminisces about the days when she was a teenager, asking her dad for her first car, an Olds Cutlass Supreme.

Snow No! not again

It looks like Nome, Alaska out there today (Wednesday). There's so much snow that tree limbs are dropping like flies. We're in the middle of our second big snow in four days.

Wednesday around 4 PM.

Wednesday around 5 PM. Taken out the front with snapshot camera.

The total snowfall here was about 18". Add to that the 22" from Saturday and you have 40" in five days, plus the 18" snowfall in December makes 58" so far this year - apparently a new record amount for this part of Pennsylvania.

Joke for married people

During a bank robbery the robber's mask slid down.
He looked at one of the bystanders and asked, "Did you see my face?"
The man said, "yes!" So the robber shot him.
Then the robber asked a woman, "did you see my face?"
She said. "No, but my husband over there did."

The Big Bang Theory tech talk

The Big Bang Theory is my fav sitcom/TV show. It's about four smart nerdy types and a pretty woman. The show has smart dialog and good delivery by the cast. Here's a few lines from the Feb 1st episode, The Einstein Approximation. Sheldon, the main (lovable) nut-job nerd, is acting all crazy because he's having trouble with some physics thing he's working on. Howard and Leonard are discussing his behavior:

Howard - How long has he been like this?
Leonard -   Intellectually about 30 hours, emotionally about 29 years.
Howard - Have you tried rebooting him?
Leonard -   I think it's a firmware problem.

The show is now number one with 18-49 year olds. One of the things I like is that they haven't dumbed it down. They put in technical references, such as the rebooting and firmware jokes. They also throw in some physics, albeit not much. I'm glad the viewing audience has accepted this. And maybe it's the start of a new trend in television, that is, intelligent shows  - one can only hope.

How much money do the top movie stars make

The following list comes from forbes.com for 2009. It  includes a few producers but is mostly actors. The list is not exactly a list of top earners.  The Forbes list, the 'Celebrity 100' is supposed to be a list of the most 'powerful' celebrities. So there are other actors who should be included based solely on earnings.
In millions of dollars:

 

1. Oprah Winfrey        275
   
2. George Lucas        170
   
3. Steven Spielberg    150
   
4. Jerry Bruckheimer    100
   
5. Jerry Seinfeld        85
   
6. Dr. Phil McGraw    80
   
7. Simon Cowell        75
   
8. Tyler Perry        75
   
9. Harrison Ford        65
   
10. Larry David        55
    
11. Adam Sandler        55
    
12. Will Smith        45
    
13. David Letterman    45
    
14. Brian Grazer/Ron Howard    45
    
15. Chris Rock        42
    
16. Nicolas Cage        40
    
17. Eddie Murphy        40
    
18. Ryan Seacrest        38
    
19. Clint Eastwood        35
    
20. Tom Hanks        35
    
21. Ellen DeGeneres    35
    
22. Tom Cruise        33
    
23. Jay Leno        32
    
24. Jim Carrey        30
    
25. Jeff Dunham        30
    
26. Brad Pitt        28
    
27. Angelina Jolie        27
    
28. Sarah Jessica Parker    27
    
29. Jennifer Aniston    25
    
30. Miley Cyrus        25
    
31. George Clooney    25
    
32. Daniel Radcliffe        25
    
33. Meryl Streep        24
    
34. Charlie Sheen        21
    
35. Cameron Diaz        20
    
36. Steve Carell        20
    
37. Katherine Heigl        18
    
38. Serena Williams    17
    
39. Sandra Bullock        17
    
40. Reese Witherspoon    15
    
41. Rachael Ray        15
    
42. Jon Stewart        14
    
43. Drew Barrymore    12
    
44. Hugh Laurie        10
    
45. Nicole Kidman        9
    
46. Eva Longoria Parker    9
    
47. Alec Baldwin        8
    
48. Mariska Hargitay    8
    
49. Anne Hathaway    7
    
50. Tina Fey        7
    
51. Jennifer Love Hewitt    6

More snow

Today is our second big snow here in the Pennsylvania. In December we got about 18", today should be about the same.

View out the front at about 7 AM. The snow plow got stuck and a front end loader had to come and pull it out. This is actually the third time in six years this guy has gotten stuck here. The first time he turned the truck over going around the cul-de-sac turn. I have no explanation.

Total snow amount: 22"

How do you manage stress relief

Exercise is probably the best stress reliever. Your mind can be blank or all worked up. It doesn't matter because your body is taking care of everything. There is a minimum health requirement though - if you're in poor health and in bad condition you could drop dead.
Sex is good but you need a friend to make it really effective. And if you're truly stressed about something it can be hard to get your mind on task. And if you can't get things going that could cause even more stress.
Talking can work if it leads to a satisfying solution or you're able to vent and rant enough to purge your system of anger/resentment or whatever is causing the stress.
Junk food has never worked for me but it might for some. However there is the risk of nausea and vomiting. When I was ten I ate so much chocolate I was sick in bed for two days. Now I can't stand the sight of it.
Yelling can work but you have to do it until you're hoarse.
Meditation is effective but it takes a lot of practice and therefore takes a while to learn. Also, like sex, if you're really hopped up about something then it can be difficult to concentrate and relax.
And of course there is alcohol, smoking and other drugs but they have many side effects not to mention health effects.  But drugs can be effective.
Writing in a journal, graffiti, or whatever, could work if you're the right type of person I guess.
Hobbies are good for relaxation but generally not up to snuff for serious stress relief.
As a last resort, if none of these others appeals to you, you could always try beating up somebody. From what I can tell it seems to be most effective on little brothers.

Cary Grant & Katherine Hepburn

From George Cukor's The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Isn't this a great shot.

trailer
photo from Dr. Marco

Funny commercial

iPod joke

Sent to me by my sister.



I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat.

After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.

Funny commercial