Why Dress Up Games are Important in Building Children's Life Skills?

Dress up games helps children in more ways than you might think.

Improving vocabulary
Children who play imaginary dress up games tend to have noticeably better vocabularies.

Taking control
Dress up games lets your children be anyone they want, practice things they've learned, and make situations turn out the way they want.

Learning social rules
Sometimes it's hard for children to know what to do in a social situation. When children test out different pretend scenarios during their dress up games, they're learning complex, real-world rules about social interaction.

Solving problems
Dreaming up imaginary situations for their dress up games teaches children to think creatively in real life. A study at Case Western Reserve University found that young children who are imaginative tend to remain so as they get older and to become better problem solvers.

Find out more about How to Raise an Imaginative Child from ParentCenter.

Don't Forget: Christmas is the perfect time to start building your child's imagination trunk and costume collection.

How to Take Care of Long Hair

If you have long hair or have thought about growing yours out, you have likely thought about all the care and effort that goes into keeping your hair beautiful and healthy. However, there are easy ways to get the rewards that come with long hair without having to go through all the difficult care. There are four steps you can take to enjoying healthy and beautiful long hair.

One: Damage Control
Perhaps the hardest part of having long hair is the damage. However, most of the damage inflicted on long hair is as a result of poor handling when the hair is wet. So when you get out of the shower to prevent damage be sure to detangle with your fingers first followed by a wide tooth comb. When pinning back your hair it is best to avoid metal barrettes or elastics since these can cause damage. Plastic clips are the best option to prevent damage. If you want to heat-style your hair then to prevent damage you should reduce your heat as much as possible and use a leave-in heat protector product. Following these steps will go a long way to preventing the damage that is common with long hair.

Two: Selecting a Stylist
In order to maintain the health and beauty of your long hair it is best to look for a stylist who knows how to handle long hair. Make sure you find someone who understands what you want done and is willing to go along with your plans to maintain a healthy head of long hair. You can select the right stylist by making sure you have a consultation with them before making your first appointment. This consultation will give you the opportunity to assess how your stylist will work.

If the consultation goes well then you should first schedule just a routine trim. This way you can observe how they take care of your hair without having any major changes made to your hair that you may not like. Make sure they listen to your requests and that they treat your hair gently and don’t rush. Make sure no damaging cutting techniques are used and that you are comfortable with the final look. Then you can return to the stylist with confidence that they will properly care for your long hair.

Three: Hair Care Products
Long hair is difficult to care for, it is older and more delicate than other hair styles. Therefore, you need the proper products that will meet your hairs special needs. You should be sure you are using a gentle shampoo and don’t use so much conditioner since you need to insure proper cleansing. The best option is to alternate between the use of a conditioner that contains a moisturizer and a conditioner that contains a deep protein treatment. After every shampoo it is also a good idea to use a cream rinse which is not the same as a conditioner. A cream rinse is something that will help with detangling your hair without causing a buildup that would damage your hair. For the most part you are going to have to experiment with various products until you find the right one. The right product for your hair is one that improves the appearance and health of your hair without drying it out too much.

Four: Overall Health
Perhaps one of the most overlooked areas in hair care is a persons overall health. Our hair reflects a great deal on how the rest of our body is health wise. Therefore a good diet and exercise regimen will help to improve you hairs health in addition to your bodies overall health.

For specific hair health you can do a good dry brushing at least once a day to improve the health of both your hair and scalp. When doing a dry brushing always start at the roots using a natural bristle brush and you will help stimulate the muscles in your scalp which can improve the condition of your hair.

Chapter 52: Smoking Gun on Health Insurance

If a story from the Boston Globe is to be believed, then at least one company is on the way to destroying health insurance in America. Lawncare giant, Scott's, apparently has a policy that precludes any employee from smoking -- including off the job. Why are they acting as Big Brother? I can only surmise that they know what smoking does for the health of an employee and they don't want to pay for a smoker's health care, especially as they get older and the problems persist.

I'm not in favor of smoking, but I'm less in favor of legislating a person's private life. If the company is allowed to maintain such draconian policies, the measures will be replicated elsewhere. There's no telling where such actions would stop. Do you eat eggs? Well, you can't anymore because the cholesterol contributes to heart disease. Work somewhere else? It's not our problem no one else will hire you either. If that's Scott's policy, then they should simply not offer health coverage at all. Then, only employees who can afford to self-insure would work there. Competitive disadvantage? Of course, but that's they're bed. If smoking were illegal, that would be a different story. Drinking alcohol is legal, but driving while intoxicated isn't, and if I were to do that and get caught, an employer has a right to be concerned. But I wouldn't want to work for a company that is dictating my legal actions outside of the office.

Give the Gift of Imagination: Kids Dress Up Costumes

Top 10 Dress Up Costumes for Children
1. 3in 1 Dress Up For Girls: Princess, Fairy & Zarina
2. 3 in 1 Dress Up For Boys: Cowboy, Indian, Peter Pan
3. Snow Queen Costume
4. Captain Jack Sparrow Dead Man's Chest Costume
5. Princess Cinderella Toddler Size Costume
6. Batman Begins Deluxe Costume
7. Princess Leia Costume
8. Radiant Fairy Costume
9. Superman Returns Deluxe Muscle Chest Costume
10. Deluxe Supergirl Costume

Fourth/Fifth costume emerge

Slowly, but surely new costumes are being released for Bullet Witch in Japan. I haven’t found any new info regarding what will be included for the US release, but it’s encouraging that the developers are keeping things going. This newest outfit ramps up the sexy and adds a new hair color and glasses too.


It’s quite nice actually. A bit on the wild side, but that’s fine.


The next costume that looks to make it into the game is this bizarre mummy motif. Seems it went through some revisions to tone it down a bit and thus we have a jacket and jean shorts added on top of things. I’m not a huge fan of the whole bandage look, which seemingly became “a hot thing” during the Evangelion heydays.

Chapter 51.7: Kids in the Hall

It's Hall of Fame voting time again. (No, I don't have a vote.) This year's three big new names are Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, and Mark McGwire. Gwynn and Ripken are obvious HOFers, so I won't even belabor that debate. And McGwire, well, that's something else entirely. Given what's been mentioned on the radio and online lately, a lot of voters have decided to leave him off their ballots -- quite possibly enough to deny him election this year. Fair play. But will that happen next year too? Is he now forever left in the background because of the unproven (but likely) accusations of using enhancements? Time will tell, and it will speak loudly. Personally, I think voters eventually will acquiesce and vote him into the Hall and others will decry it as hypocrisy.

On another issue, I'd like to throw out these names for the Hall of Almost Famous: Jim Rice, Goose Gossage, Bret Saberhagen. (There are others too.) In my opinion, Rice was a great hitter and deserves enshrinement. Gossage too, because he helped change the role of relievers. But I don't think either will get in. Rice's numbers were short of most of the major metrics (e.g., 500 HRs, 3,000 hits, 1,500 RBI) and reportedly his attitude annoyed the writers who vote at this point, but he came darn close last year so perhaps there's hope. Goose? It's a harder sell. No one seems to remember that after he left the Yankees -- well, at least after the Padres -- he became just another reliever. Other than his final year (with Seattle!) he hadn't finished more than half the games he pitched; this man was not a closer the final seven years of his long career. But he had several years as one of the best. Of course, his time with the Yankees is his claim to fame, and while he was the most feared reliever at that time, I'm not sure he kept that status long enough for enshrinement. The man wasn't Mariano, whose eventual enshrinement is a foregone conclusion. Saberhagen? Excellent for a few seasons (two Cy Young awards), but not otherwise close to enshrinment. He just didn't have it for long enough to deserve it.

Just another guy whose baseball card is worth a few pennies more than the common player.

Chapter 51.5: Memories (Context Is Everything)

Went to my high school reunion last night. For most of these people, I'd not seen them in decades. I haven't missed most of them either -- nor have they missed me. On countless faces, I saw the look of "who is that guy?" and it's not just because I've grown a beard since then. I was a face in the hallway for dozens of these people -- mostly the girls, for whom I was neither popular enough to care about nor good looking enough to go out of their way to know. I felt a little puerile not speaking with some of them this weekend. After all, it's been many years. But I hadn't liked their type then and if for only one night, they were those kids I didn't like all over again.

Some of my old friends had forgotten things or conveniently decided not to let them back into a conversation. That's fine. I understand. Many of us remember where the land mines are placed. And not every person believes an experience is for learning.

But things were still different. I'm a happily married man who doesn't need the approval of my classmates. And some of the kids I had secretly detested were nice, upstanding parents now. We had conversations. No promises of keeping in touch or anything fake like that. Just being friendly. Like someone I'd meet at the train station. And when my stop arrives, I'll do what I have to do and move along.

Game For you

Chapter 51.4: The Bird

Another turkey come and gone. It was a pleasant day, despite the weather. No turkey bowl, but lots of turkey and several bowls. Now people are leaving. And the holiday season has officially begun. Safe home.

Monsters Come Out to Sing Christmas Comedy Songs

A Merry Monster Christmas CD has fun parodies of Christmas carols, making it a great Christmas CD for kids.

Frankenstein, Count Dracula and the Wolfman have come together to sing some Christmas comedy songs to celebrate the holidays. A Merry Monster Christmas CD has silly parodies of popular Christmas carols, fun holiday skits and several one liners that kids of all ages can appreciate.

“A Merry Monster Christmas CD is truly a unique Christmas CD for kids,” states Shari McConahay, Vice President of Marketing for leading holiday costume website Santa Suits.com, “It takes the best of Halloween and gives it a new holiday twist that kids can appreciate.”

A Merry Monster Christmas CD uses the amazing talents of American voice actor, Len Maxwell, who is best known for voicing the character of Nick Diamond on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch from 1998 to 2002. Originally released in 1964, A Merry Monster Christmas CD has been entertaining families for decades. Recently, in 2005, Len Maxwell returned to the studio to put a modern update on this classic Christmas CD for kids.

The Christmas CD for kids that you don’t want to go without, A Merry Monster Christmas CD is available for $14.95 at Santa Suits.com.

Chapter 51.2: Most Deserved Awards

I'm pleased to see the voters did what was right, once again. No, I'm not talking about America's voters and the Democratic victories in the House and Senate. I mean the AL and NL Most Valuable Player awards. Despite my hopes for Carlos Beltran becoming the first Met to take the award, Ryan Howard was a lock. He earned that award in the batter's box, no question about it. But he's a butcher in the field. However, fielding doesn't hurt you in this voting -- as long as you do it (not many designated hitters win the award) -- it can only help you.

Around my part of the country, it seemed most baseball fans expected Derek Jeter to take the AL MVP, and he had an excellent season. But Justin Morneau (.321, 34 homers, 130 RBI) was an enormous part of their Central Division championship. I'm well aware that Joe Mauer was the batting champ, but clearly the Canadian-born Morneau was the offensive firepower on the Twins.

I have no problem with Johan Santana taking his second AL Cy Young award, but I'm not sure if anyone should have won in the National League. I suppose Brandon Webb was the best pitcher over the entire season, but no NL hurler was really great. This was the worst season for pitching in the National League in a generation.

Chapter 51: Turkey Week

The Christmas commercials have begun, the temperature's been in the 60s recently, and the house is undergoing its annual makeover. That's right, it's Thanksgiving time again!

This year isn't any more special than previous years, but it'll be crowded. And not everyone will be in our tiny home in our tiny town. But the basement's ready for bumper pool and beer. If the weather holds up, we'll have a Turkey Bowl ("sponsored" by Bass Ale). And we've eaten enough food from Shop-Rite to qualify for the free frozen turkey.

I'm sure it'll all work out fine, but I'm almost looking forward to getting back to work in a week.

The Martialarm Martial Arts Training Machine

MARTIALARM martial arts supplies MACHINE

- Very Unique Martial Arts Equipment and Training Gear

All I want for Christmas is....

When I was a little girl I LOVED playing dress up. I'd be a princess, a cowgirl, a doctor and my favorite Princess Leia.

For many children, playing dress up is a favorite kind of pretending. By interacting with each other in "make believe" conversations, it helps them develop their language arts skills and helps them express their feelings in a positive way. To help encourage this kind of pretend play, dress-up costumes are the perfect holiday gift for all of the good little girls and boys on your list.

Most popular this year for girls and boys are anything pirates. Other options include the always popular princesses, from Snow White to Cinderella, for girls and super heros - Superman, Batman, Spiderman - for boys. Other cool costumes include fairies, Barbie, rock stars and monsters.

Check them all out at Annies Costumes.

DOAX2 Get

The game has been getting hammered by reviews, but of course there’s no way that would deter me from picking up the game. Despite the poor scores for Rumble Roses XX, I still greatly enjoyed the game. That said, my expectations have been greatly lowered.

Impressions soon.

Update part 1
Played through one full vacation last night. I heard the first time through, you are forced to partner with Lisa, so decided Tina would be the best choice. I’m liking the new bikinis I’ve seen. Volleyball seems much tougher, but thankfully you can make a lot of money with the jet skis. The revamped poker is much better too.

I spent way too much time spamming the slot machines. In the last game, most of the machines that didn’t take away money would eventually triple (or more) your money if you did it long enough. This was achieved by using a rubber band or similar item to keep the A button pressed down. Walk away for an hour and check your total. You definitely want to check every now and then to make sure you didn’t accidentally go broke.

It looks like it still works sorta, but I didn’t do it for an hour. Only two, half-hour stretches, which is actually not nearly long enough for real gains. I got impatient and wanted to get back to actually playing the game and will try this out much later when I embark on more ambitious bikini buying sprees.

I only have the basic camera and it works pretty good. The advanced camera is very expensive, so it wouldn’t really interest me until I got a good collection of outfits anyway.

I can totally see the faults the reviews point out. Had I not come into the game prepared, the disappointment could have overwhelmed me too. At this point, I’m still quite happy with the game. To be continued.

Update Part 2
Started my next vacation with Kasumi. I didn’t choose a guide, so the game gave me the option to start off with Tina. I forgot to mention during my first time through as Tina that Lisa abandoned me. It started with a random gift she didn’t like and it probably didn’t help that I stopped playing volleyball and stuck to the jet skis.

Anyway, I’m at day 6 and the Kasumi/Tina team is still going strong. Kasumi’s outfits tend towards the demure, although there are some naughty lingerie items. She also has a few school girl outfits as well. I gave Tina a bikini she didn’t like (a white lacey number) and only won her back by giving her a prototype Xbox and cherry pie. Tina ended up giving Kasumi back the bikini, which is a ton better than throwing it away outright.

Update 3
(I’m posting update 3 and 4 at the same time because I didn’t have internet access this weeked) Finished off my vacation with Kasumi. Overall, I really liked her outfit selection. Started my next game with Christie. Ayane was the character available for initial partnership, I declined. Figured it would take a lot of time to make these two like each other, so it was going to be about solo jet skis and gambling.

Christie has the famous “pearl-like” bikini and it comes in three colors; black, white, and gold. I went with gold. Her other bikinis are kind of blah actually. She also has the bunny outfits, but they are just ok. I experimented with the Christie slot machine with mixed results. High risk, but also high pay out. I busted more than I earned over the vacation though.

The stores change inventory three times a day now, so I checked-in to buy gifts for Christie’s next vacation. There were a ton of Kasumi items in stock, which means I’ll try to partner with her the next time I play with Christie. It’s going to be hard to get Kasumi to wear the pearl one probably. I may try to play as Kasumi first and get friendly with Christie to hopefully keep the good vibes going between them.

Update 4
My fourth vacation featured Helena. Kokoro was the default partner and they seem to get along ok. Helena’s premiere bikini is the sea shell one. I’ve seen two color variations so far although I’m sure there is probably at least one more. She also has some nice skirt outfits. A better overall selection than Christie. I’m only at day three, but already decided to play only enough to buy maybe two or three bikinis for Helena then move on to another character.

I’m wondering if there are costumes that don’t appear in a girl’s first vacation.

After I play at least a few days with every girl, I’ll start concentrating on one single collection. I’m not sure who that will be yet though. I'll also try to unlock pole dancing. It's crazy how long the scene is compared to other gravure, like 5 times as long.

Update 5 (Final one for this post)
After finishing Helena’s vacation, I did really quick 2-day runs with Hitomi, Kokoro, and Leifang just to check out their outfit selection. These three have the most tame wardrobea so far, but that’s not a bad thing. There are some really adorable outfits to choose from, although it’s a bit weird that Leifang’s full China dress costs a million zacks. I mean, it’s very nice looking, but just oddly priced. After I finish Kokoro at day two, I’ll move on to Ayane and finally Lisa. I expect to spend a lot more time with these two to set up later gift exchanges.



Hitomi is the only character that automatically comes with the super fancy camera, so I need to go check that out to see if it’s really worth 2 million zacks.

The next update will probably not be about DOAX2, but expect a fuller report after that or the next.

Want Free Jewelry?

Pay only shipping and handling fee.

Chapter 50.9: Duck Season

Bruce Reed posted an interesting piece in Slate, where he discusses President Bush's lame duck status. He concludes that the president should learn from what the "Governator" learned in California: be more Democratic. While many would scoff at the notion of President Bush acting like a Democrat, perhaps they've forgotten that pre-9/11 many of his initiatives had that tone to them, including the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. Most of those efforts were not only derided by the conservatives he rode into Washington on, they were also back-burnered after the nation went to war.

Chapter 50.8: Where Is Everybody?

Another one bites the dust before the dust from the midterm elections has settled. Mark Feingold has decided not to run for president in 2008. Mark Warner has done the same, and it seems unlikely (though not impossible) for George Allen to run -- of course, having lost in a re-election bid doesn't bode too well for the future.

It's still somewhat early. I've heard rumors that Al Gore has put together his old team, but I've not confirmed that with any sources, and I wouldn't trust a Web site by itself. Personally, I'm not sure that really strikes me as a good thing either.

Obviously, the parties aren't giving up, but candidates from both sides have been falling by the wayside. McCain's all but said he's running, everyone assumes Hillary is running. And questions remain about whether Giuliani is going to run. In the meantime, there's actually a country to run.

I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen during the first few months of the new congress. That's when any governing will happen. It'll be nice to see if someone comes as a leader out of the congress.

How attractive are you?!

How attractive are you?!



Hey, try it out and see how attractive you can be to the opposite
sex.


q.1. Which place do you want to have a travel most?
A. Beijing .....................................go
to
q.2
B. Tokyo ......................................go
to
q.3
C. Paris .....................................go to
q.4

2. Have you ever cried when you see a touching movie?
A. Yes......................................go to q.4
B. No.......................................go to q.3

3. If your boyfriend or girlfriend still has not come after an hour
of
your date with him/her, what will you do?
A. wait for another 30 mins.................go to q.4
B. leave immediately...............................go to q.5
C. wait until he/she comes..................go to q.6

4. Do you like to go to see a movie alone?
A. Yes.....................................go to q.5
B. No......................................go to q.6

5. When he/she asks for a kiss in your first date, what will you do?
A. Refuse..................................go to q.6
B. light kiss on his/her forehand.........go to q.7
C. Agree and kiss him/her.................go to q.8

6. Are you a humorous person?
A. I think I am..........................go to q.7
B. I think I am not......................go to q.8

7. Do you think you are a capable leader?
A. Yes..................................go to q.9
B. No...................................go to q.10

8. Which gender will you choose to be born if you are given a chance?
A. Male................................go to q.9
B. Female..............................go to q.10
C. I don't mind........................Type D (go straight
to
results below)

9. Have you ever got more than one boyfriends or girlfriends at a
time
A.Yes.................................Type B (go straight to
results below)
B. No.................................Type A (go straight
to
results below)

10. Do you think you are intelligent?
A. Yes................................Type B (go straight to
results below)
B. No.................................Type C (go straight to
results below)




RESULTS

Type A : Congratulations! You can extremely attract the opposite sex!
You possess a charming beauty in the eyes of them. You not only have
a
pretty figure,
but also have a humorous and gentle personality. You should be a
literate person
and know how to get along with people and can allocate your time
well,
thus you are always popular among the opposite sex.



Type B : Quite good! You can easily attract the opposite sex, but you
will
not easily into the loving trap. Your humor makes them want to get
along with you. He/She will be happy being with you!



Type C : Not bad! You cannot attract the opposite sex very well, but
you still have something good which make them like to get along with
you.
You should be an honest person and have a unique view in seeing
things.
You are quite friendly in the eyes of your friends.



Type D : Oh! You do not attract the opposite sex.
You do not have much knowledge, and not much intrinsic humane values.
You are too rude to the opposite sex. Thus you are not very popular
among
them.

Chapter 50.7: Ed Bradley

Although I never met the man, I always felt I could get along with Ed Bradley. He was an excellent reporter, strong interviewer, and I had the sense that I could trust what he was telling me. I'd have loved to work with him on stories. Alas, that'll never happen.

I was sad and surprised to hear of his death. I'd seen a snippet of one of his recent interviews, and he looked gaunt. Though I didn't know he was ill, he certainly looked the part. Hopefully he didn't suffer for long. He will be missed.

November costume update

These two outfits were revealed in the “girls” trailer released on Xbox Live a week or so back, but now we have some actual pics, courtesy of Famitsu, that aren’t grainy footage caps. I like that there are a variety of outfits aside from bikinis. The white lingerie number on Christie looks a little comical considering the beach surroundings, but you won’t hear me complaining about it.

On the other hand, I’m not too wild about Kasumi’s school girl outfit. I like a good school girl outfit as much as anyone, but DOA fans see this costume a lot. It’s played out. They really need to retire it for a while, put it in the Disney vaults or something. I’m sure the Kasumi/school girl fans would be outraged though, so who am I to deny their pleasure?


Untold Legends
PS3 test units have made their way to various editorial offices. You’ve probably read most of the impressions out there. I haven’t spent a bunch of time with one, but I did notice how much heat the thing emits. It’s a lot of hot air blowing out of there. One of the games I’ve been going back and forth on is Untold Legends. One on hand, I love Diablo-style games and I enjoyed the first two games (Champions of Norrath) in the series.


On the other hand, I loath the “Legends” art direction the series has adopted. This PS3 installment is less stylized than the PSP versions, which is encouraging. I’ve seen videos where you’re obtaining new armor and seeing it immediately on the characters. Up close, they look quite nice. I’ll figure out if I still want it by the time I get a PS3.

Killer 7
I finally got around to beating Killer 7 for the GameCube the night before I brought home Gears of War. I’ll talk about Gears in a later post. There aren’t really many costume variations, this one just has a graphic look I really like. My favorite is Kaede who wears a simple white dress with no shoes and highly disturbing blood stains on her stomach. Such a simple yet bold outfit.


The same development house, Grasshopper, made a game based off the Blood anime/manga. It’s doubtful to see a US release, but there is a new game called Heroes for the Wii that has a chance to see the light of day here. It also involves assassins and some sort of light sabers.

Last Day for Halloween Costume Sale

Today, November 9th, is the last day for After Halloween Costume Sale at Annie's Costumes. All order over $50 will get 15% off, using coupon code "AFTER".

Remember, Halloween isn't the only time that kids like to dress up. There are plenty of fun costume ideas to do all year round. Dress up and put on a play from Fabulously Funny Fairy Tale Plays, invite the your daughter's friends over and have them be a Princess for the Day, or bring to life one of your child's favorite stories. All you need is a little imagination and a few kids costumes then you're good to go.

Chapter 50.5: Mission Not Yet Accomplished

For many Democrats, the victories that will give the party control of the House and its apparent victory in the Senate, taste like dessert after six years of humiliating losses. And today's announcement of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's resignation seems like the cherry on top.

But I believe the honeymoon will not last too long. If comments like those of Howard Dean and even Rahm Emanuel are any guide, voters expecting an announcement of troop withdrawals in the near future will be sorely mistaken. During his color (blue) commentary on CNN, Paul Begala spoke of how control of the House will enable Democrats to provide "oversight" on the progress of the war. Oversight? The only oversight most voters are willing to accept is that Democrats will "forget" to find a significant committee chair in the Senate for John Kerry.

Personally, I suspect both Dean and Begala and others are correct and the campaign vitriol will subside. With the election over and Rummy sipping margaritas on spring break, Democrats will search for a face-saving way of not pulling out of the war (and let's face it, doing so too quickly would be a tragic, irresponsible mistake). Depending on how change happens, it will clearly have ramifications for the run for the White House -- not only regarding who wins, but who runs.

As a self-avowed (moderate) Democrat, I believe it's significant that the party won yesterday. But we should no more fly "mission accomplished" signs in Congress or over state houses than President Bush should have landed on an aircraft carrier hoisting a similar message. The mission has just begun. Let's see some honest politicians for a change

Chapter 50.4: Vote Early, Vote Often

It's here, and the pressing question is whether it will be more popular than this year's World Series. That's right, it's midterm Election Day.

Overheard on the street this morning: a homeless man stopped a gentleman on the street. "Excuse me," said the gruff looking guy. "What day is it today?"

The man heading off to work said, "November 7th."

"Is it a holiday?"

"No. It's Election Day."

"Oh," the homeless man replied. And I heard no more.

Chapter 50.35: If Anyone Cares

For those few people who actually read this blog, if you're wondering my opinion on the very tight NJ Senatorial race, I think Sen. Menendez will win. However, I think Tom Kean Jr. has shown himself to be not only a strong candidate but potent enough to run for other roles in the future. He might even be able to unseat Sen. Lautenberg in a couple years or run for his father's old job in 2009.

Chapter 50.3: Slapdash Prediction

Guess what, there's an election tomorrow! I played around with the election map on the New York Times site. Based on what I was thinking at the time (and since I don't live in Missouri or Montana, I can't say I really know a darn thing), I plugged in who I thought was going to win. The results: 50 Republicans, 49 Democrats and Joe Lieberman as an Independent, which means the Republicans would keep control of that house of Congress. I didn't have time to plug and play with all the up-for-grabs House races, but I'm thinking the Democrats will take a small majority there. Enough to save face in this mid-term fracas. May we live in interesting times.

Chapter 50.25: Eight More Weeks!

I'm facing a deadline. I told myself that I'd have my novel revised by the end of the year so I could show it to a young director who wants to consider it for a future film project. While I like the idea of the story being put to film, I'm not sure this is the time to start working on a screenplay. Yet, I need to revise the book for myself, too. I want to move on my second novel and also start searching for an agent. That's not a task I will take lightly, as there are too many sketchy characters working in the field. But I won't find anyone worth my time if I don't have a book worth a good agent's time.

And 2006 is fast running out of weeks.

Chapter 50.2: Ouch

What a beautiful autumn weekend! Perhaps I deserve what I got, but after jogging five miles Saturday morning, I spent much of that afternoon chopping away at some of the large branches that fell during the recent windstorms. (There's something oddly satisfying about whacking the hell out of something with a hand ax!) Today, I followed that bit of exercise up with a full day of raking leaves. I didn't realize how much a few trees can dump onto a small yard. My whole body aches. I'm almost looking forward to the work week to rest up.

Excercise Tips

For Back










For Belly










Exercise for the sides






Waist






Hips






Laps and hips






Leg






Legs and belly

Onechanbara Dress-Up Mode

Or as the screen says “dressesup” mode. Found this screen randomly in some Japanese message boards, but haven’t found any official screens that would shed more light on the situation.

Looks like there are some base edits (which are on the other page so who knows what they are), and options for the Head, Arm, Tops, Bottoms, and Leg.

I haven’t set up a Japanese 360 account, but I definitely would if a demo of the game ever popped up there. I still have to figure out how to do that exactly.

Chapter 50.1: Next...

At least the junior senator from Massachusetts has apologized for his stupid comment. Now, if the Democrats are able to take control of the senate, let's see if John Kerry has any significant committee chairmanships come his way. I just don't see that happening, because he is responsible for the October surprise this year -- almost two years to the date of his failed presidential candidacy. Perhaps it's close to time for Kerry to put his name into the hat for the open president's job at Harvard.

Halloween Hangover

"Parents need to watch the amount [of candy] their kids are eating" - School Nurse Beth Dittman at Pirrung Elementary School in Mesquite, TX

Halloween has come and passed, leaving in it's wake the victorous capture of goodies and treats in little kids' bags. But before you let your kid indulge in a gluttony of candy, remember, too much of a 'good' thing can be bad.

Nutritionists say that gorging on Halloween candy may cause blood sugar levels to spike and drop. Dr. Greene's article, "The Relationship Between Sugar and Behavior in Children" notes that highly refined sugars and carbohydrates, which are found in most Halloween candy, enter the bloodstream quickly, produce more rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Now for most kids, this can create hyperactivity during that sudden burst of adrenaline. Once the Halloween candy has worked its way out of your child's system, tummy aches and crankiness are left behind.

Is there a way to beat the Halloween Hangover? You bet. Spread out your child's consumption of their Halloween candy, and don't give it to them on an empty stomach. Make sure your child has a breakfast which contains fiber (oatmeal, shredded wheat, berries, bananas, whole-grain pancakes, etc.), and add delicious fiber-containing treats (whole-grain breads, peaches, grapes, a myriad of other fresh fruits, etc.) to their lunch box. Fiber is nature's natural remedy to keeping a steady level of adrenaline.

Chapter 50: Taking One for the Team?

I've not yet read any articles about it, but apparently Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) commented that our soldiers are "stuck in Iraq" as a result of President Bush's policies. I've noticed that he's taking a lot of heat for it, but at my first blush, I wonder if he's essentially returning the nation's focus to the president, where Republicans are particularly vulnerable right now, in order to deflect anything away from the senate and house races that might hurt Democrats. Perhaps it's only a way for Kerry to keep in the public eye during an election in which he's not running for anything. Either way, short of an outrageous and almost instantaneously proven allegation, my mind is already made up on my local elections.