Blogs List
 Cheryl Clarke |
Getting ready for summer vacationTue, June 23, 2009 @ 3:29PM The time is coming for me to take my annual summer vacation, and boy do I need it. After the past several months beginning with the illness and death of my mother in December, dealing with my dad's grief and the necessity of getting him into assisted living and then skilled nursing care, followed by my husband losing his job after 21 years of faithful service, 2009 has been a whallopaloozer of a year, to say the least. The only bright spot was the birth of our first grandchild, Julia, in February. Now almost five months old, she is a joy and a light in what has been a difficult year so far. We also are wrestling with our house, which is over 100 years old, trying to keep it from falling down to the ground. If you've ever seen the movie "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks, you know what I am talking about. I already told Russ that I would not be playing "carpenter's helper" over my two weeks off this year.
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Newspaper Notions
 Sunny Day |
WOOSH! BANG! AAAAAAAAAH!Tue, June 16, 2009 @ 2:08PM Fireworks are low explosive pyrotechnic devices used mainly for entertainment purposes. They create four primary effects – noise, smoke, light and floating materials such as confetti. Firework displays are common throughout the world and are part of many cultural and religious celebrations. Scaring evil spirits was the necessity for the invention. In the 12th century these devices were created by the ancient Chinese to scare away evil spirits and were a natural extension of their invention of gunpowder. They were also used in prayer for happiness and prosperity. Pyrotechnicians or firework masters were respected for their knowledge and skill in mounting these beautiful displays of lights. China is the largest manufacturer and exporter of fireworks in the world. Here in America the earliest settlers used fireworks and black ash to celebrate events.
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Empty Nest/Full House
 LLee Janssen |
Experimenting with technology againWed, July 1, 2009 @ 10:53AM I've got reporters hooked up with Blackberries and linked in to WmsptSunGazette on twitter, and today we're experimenting w/ how we can take photos w/ them, report News Now, and use photos in other applications, such as the photos w/ this blo.
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The Intersection
 Mike Maneval |
Another Inspector General breaks into the newsThu, July 2, 2009 @ 5:24PM David Kotz, Inspector General for the Securities and Exchange Commission, has detailed potential improvements to financial oversight. Joanna Chung of the Financial Times reports Kotz is calling for the government to strengthen a bounty system used to reward whistleblowers. Kotz says the existing bounty practices used by the SEC are too "vague" and not pursued frequently enough. Other ideas Kotz detailed in a letter to Financial Services Sub-Committee Chairman Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke include stricter oversight of hedge funds and advisers, and requiring in some instance the use of separate accounts to minimize the risk of Madoff-style Ponzi scheming, according to the July 1 story on the Financial Times' Web sit.
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The Doctor's Prescriptions
 Chris Masse |
For DadSat, June 20, 2009 @ 11:36PM Everything I try to do in life I try to do well. But above all else, what I try for and what I pray is that I am a good father to my lovely daughter. Honestly, I never thought there would come a day when I would be somebody's father. And when Katie was born to say I was thrilled beyond belief but also scared out of my mind would be an understatement. But so far, so good. Maybe I shouldn't have been so worried. After all, I had a great teacher. Everything I learned about fatherhood I learned from the best father there is--my dad. I was not the easiest kid to live with or raise growing up, but my dad (and my mom, but it's father's day so I have to focus on dad here) always stood by me, always supported me and was always there for me. I no longer live at home, but nothing has changed in that capacity. Lessons I learned from my father growing up, I still carry with me today and try passing along to my daugther.
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Kinda Blue
 Diamond Dave Thompson |
Billtown Blues ChallengeTue, March 31, 2009 @ 12:10PM Congratulations all around for the Billtown Blues Association and the bands and performers who competed Sunday March 29 at the Billtown Blues Challenge at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport. The challenge, which determines who will be the opening act at the Billtown Blues Festival, and also who will represent the association at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis next February, is one of my favorite blues events of the year. This year was no different. Three solo-duo acts and six bands entered the competition, which attracted a huge crowd of enthusiastic blues fans. The Irving Street Blues Band, a quartet of youngsters from Philadelphia, won the band category against some stiff competition that included Williamsportás very own Blind Chitlin Kahunas, and State Collegeás BluesMoon. Also competing: The Dirty Bird Blues Band, In the Kitchen and the Flicker Blues Band.
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Family matters
 Adrienne Wertz |
A grilled cheese sandwichFri, May 1, 2009 @ 3:58PM Ahh, those wonderful first few weeks of newborn babyland. The sleeping ... the cuddling ... the feedings ... the absolute disregard of time and its constraints ... zzzz --- wait a minute, what happened? Was I dreaming? No, you have to sleep to dream. The lack of sleeping, the clinging, the constant feedings and the lack of schedule better describes the past long months of my motherhood. No matter what I've tried -- the warm milk, the lavendar baths, the same old boring routine each night and the crying it out -- my son still is not sleeping on his own. We even bought a sofa bed for the winter (our upstairs - the childrens' room - is unheated) so that the kids could be closer to us, but still separate, but when I found myself squished like cheese on a toasted cheese sandwich, between the bread I call my son and daughter, I said "something's got to change.
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Cookin' with Wood
 Bob Woodley |
Cookin' with Wood by Bob WoodleyTue, June 30, 2009 @ 2:00PM Spicy Honey Mustard Glazed Pork Ribs Where I got the recipe: allrecipes.com Tools you'll need: Grill, tongs, saucepan, large pot, bowl, marinade brush, measuring spoon, measuring cup. Ingredients: 4 country-style pork ribs 2 Tbsp vegatable oil 1 small onion, minced 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup Dijon mustard 3 oz red wine vinegar 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp Cajun seasoning pepper to taste a generous spinkling of crushed red pepper flakes When I made it: Saturday Truth be told, this recipe isn't exactly like the one I got from the web. In fact, it's changed enough that you could say I made it up, but I'm not skilled enough to do that without some kind of guide to go by. I'm really good at following directions, though, and just rebellious enough to know how far I can stray from them. Plus, I was using a charcoal grill for the first time in more than 15 years, so the whole project was hit or miss to begin with. I also had to put the grill together before I could begin.
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