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                              Press release from Clark's Elioak Farm ... 

AUGUST 11-12, 2007:  Enchanted Forest 52^TH BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

Special family activities all day. Fairy tale characters, storytimes , entertainers, facepainting, Enchanted Forest memorabilia on sale.  Sale of the famed "Enchanted Forest stones."   See the new Enchanted Forest items we have restored in 2007.   Have you seen Humpty Dumpty, Little Toot, Willie the Whale or the Merry Miller's House.?  Bring copies of old family photographs to share. We will be putting together an album of photos from everyone's childhood trips to the Enchanted Forest during the weekend.  It's a time to celebrate the 52-year history of the Enchanted Forest with a lively Birthday Party!!    COME JOIN THE FUN!! 

Our featured entertainment for Saturday is BLUE SKY PUPPET THEATRE performing

  "THE THREE (NOT SO) LITTLE PIGS"  at 11 AM and 1:30 PM 

The wolf is a vegetarian and the pigs jam on rock and roll guitars.  This show offers an offbeat version of the classic children's tale that's as much fun for the adults as it is for the kids.

http://www.blueskypuppets.com/

                                        HA HA!

Who are your Celebrity Parents?

Lucky you, April and Phil are your parents. Probably the coolest parents on the Earth, Ape and Phil will let you do almost anything you want, and you can eat your fill. Life is good.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

       
                   I saw this on Frontline today. A great cause, and some awesome rats, (they train and use the rats to find landmines), as well as some awesome people!

                          http://www.apopo.org/newsite/content/index.htm

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

    You too can even help this worthy cause, and help save a life, by adopting a Hero Rat!

                                              http://www.herorat.org/

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GREAT PERFORMANCES "Sting: Songs From the Labyrinth"
Sting celebrates a great pop master in a special featuring the music of acclaimed Elizabethan songwriter John Dowland (1563-1626). "The songs of John Dowland have been haunting me for the past 20 years," says the former Police front man. Viewers of GREAT PERFORMANCES "Sting: Songs From the Labyrinth," airing Monday, February 26, 2007, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, can now witness why. ( this spot also aired just this week - June 27, 2007 - and will be repeated )   Born in 1563, Dowland has long captivated performers and listeners alike with his songs and introspective music. Composed primarily for lute, but also small ensembles, it remains arresting in its simplicity, spellbinding with melancholy and joy. It was perhaps inevitable that Sting - one of today's most internationally acclaimed troubadours - would be drawn to revisit Dowland's work from a contemporary perspective.   "I'm not a trained singer for this repertoire," says the 16-time Grammy winner, "but I'm hoping that I can bring some freshness to these songs that perhaps a more experienced singer wouldn't give. For me they are pop songs written around 1600 and I relate to them in that way: beautiful melodies, fantastic lyrics and great accompaniments."   The singer adds, "John Dowland was perhaps the first example of the archetype with which we have become familiar today, that of the alienated singer-songwriter - something that gives him an acutely modern resonance."   Joining Sting in the telecast is esteemed lutenist Edin Karamazov. Interspersed between performances of such timeless Dowland songs such as "Can She Excuse My Wrongs," "Come Again" and "Flow My Tears" are discussions with musicologists David Pinto and Anthony Rooley about the composer's place in music history and his relevance today, plus recitations by Sting from Dowland's personal correspondence.   Filmed, appropriately enough, at Lake House, Sting's 16th-century manor house in Wiltshire, and in the ancient gardens of Il Palagio, his home in Italy, "Sting: Songs From the Labyrinth" also features the performers before a live audience at St. Luke's Church in London.   Concluding the special are Sting and Karamazov, alone at Lake House, duetting on Dowland's best-known work, "In Darkness Let Me Dwell." "Timeless," Sting says. "It takes its place among the other great soliloquies of the Elizabethan Age, reminding us that while there may be tragedy within a life, life itself is not tragic."   Songs From the Labyrinth is also the title of Sting's new collection of Dowland songs, recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Traditional Classical Chart and Classical Overall Chart, where it has remained for 13 consecutive weeks.   The GREAT PERFORMANCES program will also be released as part of a special DVD/CD package entitled The Journey & the Labyrinth: The Music of John Dowland. The set includes both an extended version of the TV special and a bonus CD consisting of live material recorded at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, plus consummate Sting hits including "Message in a Bottle" and "Fields of Gold," adapted for the lute. Deutsche Grammophon will release this special package on Tuesday, February 20.   The program marks the singer's most recent appearance on the GREAT PERFORMANCES series. Last November he performed and reminisced about an old friend in "A Tribute to James Taylor."   Underwriters: UBS, Public Television Viewers, PBS and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

                    Listen here - http://www.sting.com/  go to the website, and click on the CD, to hear some selections from Sting's newest CD, and ENJOY!

                                             The wait is FINALLY over!!!!!!!!!!!
   Adding another movie, to this already popular series of movies, has been an on again, off again proposal, since the last movie made it's way into theatres back in 1989!!! Thanks in part to Mr. Steven Spielberg's kids bugging him to go back and revisit this fave character! *(Thanks kids!)* :D

                                     >> Proposed release date: May 2008 <<

                  http://www.indianajones.com/community/news/news20070621.html

                                           http://www.indianajones.com/

              - And if it is just now crossing your mind, that you might be seeing several Indy Avatars posted in my blog in the future................you'd be right! ;)

                       (Here's the first pic - courtesy of Mr. Steven Spielberg, himself) :)

                                           
                                                                


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                                                 Yeah - like that!
                           (I think my eye does that twitching thing a little bit too!)

      Well after having a migraine allll day, and almost allll night...I was finally feeling better, when Late Night with David Letterman came on, and I was rewarded with a re-run. How is that a reward you ask? ....well, the guest for that particular show was none other than Captain Jack himself, Johnny Depp! (Yay!) - He was talking about the second Pirates movie, "Dead Man's Chest", among other things.

 One of the stories that Davis prompted him to tell was pretty funny....It was back in his "21 Jump Street" Days, (I never did watch much of that series), but anyway...Johnny told of a HUGE bilboard that had an enormous pic of him on it, as the character from that show. There was a gun pictured too, and there was a slogan posted, that said, "Some kids pack lunches".... Wellll.....Johnny said he didn't care for this image at all, so, he said that he commandeered a friend, and they went to a hardware store and bought some paint, and rollers and all the essensial accouterments....and they climbed up and painted out the gun, and as he was working on defacing his own pic, ( It hink he said something like painting glasses on his face or something along those lines), a security/patrol guy came around the corner...He looked at the guys, looked at the billboard, and looked back at Johnny and said...you're him...so why are you doing that to the billboard?? Johnny said, well I don't like it, it's just wrong.   .....The patrol guy looks down at his watch, looks around, looks back up at them and says....well, just make it quick....and then left them to it.   LOL! Thought that was too funny!

                               A great end to my otherwise crappy day! 
                                    Thanks Johnny and good night!

  This is too cool! Made with soap...

      I'm all for marriage, and this new fad, is more about the fact that some gals are not keeping their dress to pass on, ( they figure their daughters would be into a newer look by that time anyway, and they are only going to be wearing it once, so why not. And maybe some gals have concidered this even before it became a fad.... :)

  This was on the front page of our local newspaper, and I thought, I just HAVE to post this! Now mind you, I don't think I could do this to my own wedding dress, but maybe to a bridesmaid's dress or two?? Here's the link!

                                     http://trashthedress.com/

   I just got finished watching the interview with William and Harry, Princess Diana's two incredible sons. Maybe some of you caught it. It was a great interview with these two wonderful young men. They are having a concert to celebrate, their Mother's 46th Birthday. Here is some of what is written on the site, and a link to the site itself.

                  "Prince William and Prince Harry will mark the 10th anniversary of their mother's death with an event to celebrate her life.

The Concert for Diana on 1st July 2007, which would have been Diana's 46th birthday, will be one of the first events to take place in the new Wembley Stadium.


Proceeds from the concert will go to charities supported by the late Princess, and to charities of which the Princes are Patrons.

If you are unlucky and miss out on tickets, join us here online, or watch out for the TV broadcast of the concert and take part in the celebration, Concert for Diana."

 The website link :   http://www.concertfordiana.com/home/index.asp

 I remember staying over at my sis-in-law's house, ( when we were younger, years before we became sis-in-laws), and waking up early, early in the morning, just to see Princess Diana, and Prince Charles' wedding. - And of course then years later, watching her memorial service. She seemed to be a wonderful person. I'm sure she was, as she shows through in her sons.

.                                                 

 Hope you don't mind this one Kenneth - I keep thinking of you and your Dad, and your whole family today.  Prayers for all of you.

                                             Happy Father's Day

                                                 A father missed

                                                a father wished

                              a man of valor, commpassion, and grace.

                                   A father who was always there,

                                        a father who TRULY cared,

                            a father always with a smile upon his face.

                                      Sturn when he needed to be,

                                   listened when they needed him to,

               always leading his children down the straight and narrow path.

                             Bringing them up to be honorable citizens,

                      and showing them how to love unconditionally too.

                                    
                                       Repect for his fellow man,

                                       respect for his country too,

                                   but always his family came first.

                                     His legacy lives on in them all,

                                     his memory they will always recall,

                                    a man of value virtue and faith.

                                          Love to you dear father,

                                       and prayers for your family,

                   as they carry on without you, but still under your loving wings.

 .

  Someone sent me this, thought I'd share it!

Subject:  Names on your cell phone! please read - very important
>
>
>  This is a new one(?) ...
>
>Be careful how you list names on your cell phone!
>
>This lady has changed her habit of how she lists her names on her
>mobile/cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag which
>contained her mobile, Credit card, purse...etc.... was stolen. 20 minutes
>later when she called Her Hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had
>happened, hubby says "I've Just received your text asking about our Pin
>number and I've replied a little while ago."
>
>When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money
>was already withdrawn. The pickpocket had actually used the stolen hand
>phone to text "hubby" in the contact list and got hold of the pin number.
>Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from the bank account.
>~
>
>Moral of the lesson: Do not disclose the relationship between you and the
>people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby,
>sweetheart, Dad, Mom etc....... And very importantly, when sensitive info
>is being asked thru texts, CONFIRM by calling back.!!!!  Don't just give
>the data freely!
>Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them
>somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from
>them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet
>"family and friends" who text you.
>
>PLEASE PASS THIS ON
>

..

      Ok all you dorks out there in shoutpostville...(You know who you are)...I think it's time for  a game of,   **SHOUTPOST TAG!!!!!!!!!!**

 Ok, if you don't know how to play, ( yep we made an attemt at this once before), here are a couple of rules; 

     * The person who is "it", tags someone else, by sending them a message or a comment telling them so... 
    *If you get "tagged" by someone...PLEASE send a message back to them, to let them know, that you know, you have been tagged, ( so that they know, that you know), and that you are willing to play along. 
    *If you are NOT interested in playing....PLEASE also send a message to that person who tagged you, so that they know to go and tag someone else.
     :D  Thanks!  :D

   Ok, I'll be "it" first, and start....

                                 Now....LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!

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Note to crooks: Don't mess with Marines

Alison Harbaugh - The Capital Hillsmere resident Mike Hayes, right, is being hailed as a hero by his neighbors for stopping and detaining a burglar.

Leatherneck 2nd in year to chase down criminal

The burglar also pocketed money stashed in the girl's wallet, and other items from the home, before making his way to a taxi that was waiting for him by the curb.

It would have been an easy escape - if only former Marine Michael Hayes hadn't been standing next to the cab, refusing to let the man leave without a logical explanation for his bulging pockets and plastic bag full of change.

Mr. Hayes, 33, told The Capital he was home for lunch around 12:15 p.m. when he heard his two Belgian malinois "going nuts" in the back yard. He let the dogs in, then peeked out a window to see what was going on.

He found it strange that a cab was waiting in front of his neighbor's house, and figured the driver must be lost.

The father of two walked up to the cab to offer assistance. Just then, he saw the man walk out of his neighbor's back door with the bag full of change and his pockets stuffed.

"I acted friendly and said, 'What's going on, man?' " Mr. Hayes said. The man told him he was there to "see his boy" and not to worry about it.

But Mr. Hayes did worry, and put his hand on the cab door.

He said the crook offered to show him something and then took off running down the street, tossing coins, dollar bills and other items from his pockets onto lawns.

Mr. Hayes went after him.

The chase went for a quarter-mile, through yards and over bushes on Cedar Lane, with Mr. Hayes yelling for the man to stop.

The burglar took a right and headed to Locust Lane, where retired city Fire Department Capt. Leonard Clark was backing his red truck out of his driveway.

Mr. Clark saw what was going on, and pulled his truck in front of the fleeing burglar, who was screaming that he knew where Mr. Hayes lived, that he had a knife and he would "stick him" with it. The truck slowed the burglar down and forced him to cut through a row of bushes.

Mr. Hayes tripped over one of the bushes. When he stood up, he said, the burglar jabbed the top of his right hand with a silver knife.

That wasn't enough to stop the former Marine, who once served as a close-combat instructor. He knocked the knife out of the man's hand and took him to the ground.

"I was obviously scared, but with what I was taught in the Marines, it was just like second nature," he said. "It was just my reaction."

Mr. Hayes kept the man in a wrist-lock while Mr. Clark kicked other knives out of the man's hands and called police.

When police arrived, Mr. Hayes still had the man on the ground.

Derwyn Deon Spriggs, 20, of the 400 block of Oaklawn Avenue in Annapolis, was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, first- and second-degree assault and theft, police said.

The neighborhood has been abuzz about Mr. Hayes' heroic chase, according to his brother, Bob, who's visiting from Illinois.

"Everyone in the neighborhood is walking up to him and congratulating him," he said.

Elena DiBerardinis' mother, Laura, baked Mr. Hayes his favorite cake - apple - and gave him a $50 gift card to Chili's for nabbing the man who burglarized her home.

Ms. DiBerardinis said she got a call from Mr. Hayes' wife Monday afternoon and was told that her home had been broken into. It wasn't until she got home that Ms. DiBerardinis found out how her neighbor had chased down the burglar.

"I couldn't believe it," she said. "I told him he really shouldn't have done that. But that's Mike."

She said no one was home when the burglar went into the home.

Police are still hanging onto the money, for now.

"She's pretty bummed," Ms. DiBerardinis said of her daughter.

But at least Elena will see her money again - and it's all thanks to Mr. Hayes, and the help of Mr. Clark.

"He went above and beyond," she said. "He said, 'Oh, you would have done the same for me.' I said, 'Sure, I would have called police, Mike. But I don't think I would have chased him.' "

A Marine's instinct

About a year ago, another local Marine was praised for his role in catching a jewelry store thief.

Maj. Erik McInnis was at Westfield Annapolis in May 2006 when he saw a shabbily dressed man run out of Helzberg Diamonds.

He immediately left his two children, ages 9 and 2, in the mall's play area and chased the man through the back corridors of the mall.

Witnesses said Maj. McInnis "hurdled the row of seats and hit the ground at an all-out sprint behind the thief ... He was through the doors in hot pursuit before anyone else knew what was happening."

Maj. McInnis followed the crook back into the mall, grabbed his collar, and put him in a figure-four hold on the ground. After a few moments, an off-duty FBI agent walked up and handcuffed the man.

Police said that crook had snatched a $28,000 diamond ring out of someone's hand in the jewelry store. After he was arrested, police pulled the ring from his mouth.

The next month, Maj. McInnis, who had since been transferred from the Naval Academy to a San Diego airfield, was honored by Helzberg Diamonds in California for his deed.

The company thanked the Marine by donating $1,000 each to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

 Ok, one more for tonight.... ( not so sure about the "sane" part. "Super Duper FLooper" indeed!)   :D  

You Are Big Bird

Talented, smart, and friendly... you're also one of the sanest people around. You are usually feeling: Happy. From riding a unicycle to writing poetry, you have plenty of hobbies to keep you busy. You are famous for: Being a friend to everyone. Even the grumpiest person gets along with you. How you life your life: Joyfully. "Super. Duper. Flooper."

                             I'm an artist, so I just HAD to do this one!

You Should Be a Painter

You have the vision, patience, and skill to bring your unique visions to canvas. And you're even tempered enough not to cut your ear off in the process!

 Well the storm passed last night, it was a quick moving storm but REALLY loud! - Well, at least my ol' pc made it through ok! I di get back on here, but was not able to get my blog post to go through....seems to be working now though :D

I have a new avatar on my profile, and just wanted to say, thanks for all the nice comments from everyone about it! I tried to put it on my blog page, but no-go on this comp. - next time I'm on the other one I was borrowing, I'll see what I can do. :)

 so,...here's my latest avatar pic of the week...even though it's not Friday just yet ( school is almost out around here! Can't wait til Friday!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!)   ;

 Just get goin' on here again..and there's a storm a brewin' - the kind with thunder and lightnin'...soooooo better get off of here for a while....don't want this crazy machine gettin' zapped on me! -(now that'd be just my luck too!)

 See y'all later!

 Hollah!

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