Soxy

So, how much is a normal rent increase per year? I'm looking at an apartment that a friend of mine currently has--but the rent is going up $100 in the year for when I'd take it over. This seems kind of extreme to me, but I've never lived in an apartment before...Any words of wisdom?

Tell her you'll have her back before noon on Monday. The Critic's advice to Aboz on how to ask out the Blockbuster girl...

First off, it sounds like this is NOT a normal school. The mention of the school makes it sound like an alternative school for kids with problems (mental or behavioral). Secondly, he STOLE HER CAR. This is NOT your typical twelve year old. And I certainly have friends that are little enough that a big 12 year old--could take down. Come on, how much strength does it take to hold someone down? Not much--especially if they're scared anyway.... Not to mention the fact that charges are only brought once there is EVIDENCE. If she reported it and no action by the police I would be inclined to believe it was fake--but since the po-po got involved and charges and hearings are going on it seems to say there is something to the allegation.

Semper Fi Marine Chooses Wedding Ring Over Finger VICTORVILLE, Calif. - When Marine Lance Cpl. David Battle learned he'd either have to sacrifice his ring finger or the wedding band he wore, he told doctors at a field hospital in Iraq (news - web sites) to cut off the finger. The 19-year-old former high school football star suffered a mangled left hand and serious wounds to his legs in a Nov. 13 fire fight in Fallujah. Battle, who is recovering at his parents' home in this desert city 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, came under attack as he and fellow Marines entered a building. Eleven other Marines were wounded. Doctors were preparing to cut off Battle's ring to save as much of his finger as they could. "But that would mean destroying my wedding ring," he said. "My wife is the strongest woman I know. She's basically running two people's lives since I've been gone. I don't think I could ever repay her or show her how grateful ... how much I love my wife, my soul mate." With his approval, doctors severed his finger, but somehow in the chaos that followed, they lost his ring. Although Battle was disappointed, his wife, Devon, said she was honored. "I can't believe he did that," she said. "At first I was mad when he told me, but then I realized how lucky I am to have him in my life." The couple, who met in the eighth grade, were married in June, just two weeks before Battle left for Iraq. He hopes to eventually return to the Marines, and to replace his wedding ring, but that will have to wait until he recovers. In the meanwhile, Battle's high school has planned a banquet in his honor next week. "We need to make more David Battles," said Daniel Pierce, the school's assistant head coach. "He is one amazing guy."

Happy happy birthday!

Surprised? Pavano picks Yankees; holdup on Wright deal By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer December 11, 2004 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Carl Pavano decided Saturday he wanted to pitch for the Yankees, and his agent and New York closed in on a four-year contract worth about $39 million. Pavano called his agent, Scott Shapiro, on Saturday morning and informed him of his decision. ``Number one, he wants to win,'' Shapiro said. Anaheim, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit and Seattle also sought the right-hander, 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for Florida last season. Shapiro said his next step was to meet with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to finalize an agreement. Pavano and Shapiro met with the Yankees in New York last weekend, and Shapiro was confident a contract would be agreed to. ``We have to really hunker down and have some serious negotiations to hammer out the deal,'' Shapiro said. The Yankees expect the agreement will be worth about $39 million, a baseball official said on condition of anonymity, and the contract could contain an option for a fifth season. ``I'm hopeful because of his confidence,'' Cashman said. New York also has a preliminary agreement with right-hander Jaret Wright on a $21 million, three-year contract, but there may be a hitch in the deal. New York is still evaluating his physical exam, the baseball official said, and hasn't determined whether he passed it or failed it. Cashman refused to discuss the matter and Wright's agent, Adam Katz, declined comment. Pavano had been wooed by the World Series champion Red Sox, with Curt Schilling inviting him to his home last month. A native of New Britain, Conn., he began his professional career in the Boston organization, and was traded to Montreal in the 1997 deal that brought Pedro Martinez to the Red Sox. ``The Red Sox are an incredible organization. Obviously he's got a soft spot in his heart for them,'' Shapiro said. ``It's been a real difficult decision for him. ... It's about Carl being happy where he's living and where he's playing.'' Earlier in the day, former Yankee David Wells made a surprising decision to pitch for Boston, reaching a preliminary agreement on an $8 million, two-year contract with the Red Sox that could be worth up to $18 million. In the AL championship series, New York became the first major league baseball team ever to waste a 3-0 postseason series lead, losing to Boston as its pitching collapsed. The Yankees have made reshaping their rotation a priority, and Pavano would join holdovers Mike Mussina, Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown and possibly Wright. New York also has been talking with left-hander Eric Milton, who wants a $24 million, three-year deal, and could bring back Orlando Hernandez. Pavano, who turns 29 next month, has been probably the most sought-after of the top-level free-agent pitchers. In addition to New York and Boston, he also visited Detroit and Seattle. ``It was a long process, but Carl is comfortable because he turned over every rock, he gathered all the information possible to make a decision,'' Shapiro said.

Oh you!

As I drove by the packed mall today it got me thinking: what's the gift you've most enjoyed GIVING? It doesn't have to be expensive or super cool--but I'm interested to hear... Last Christmas I gave my parents a 18" glass cross I bought for them in the Vatican. I got it about half-way through my backpacking trip--and I loved it so much, but I was scared it would break...Every night I would check on it and then repack it. Very few gifts I have ever gotten have rivaled the joy I got in seeing them open that....

Yes, I would say we are in danger of becoming repuntangalous.

This is getting beyond recockulous...

But this one is ANDY WARHOL! 12 electric chairs!!! I had no idea people were so attached to Noam.....I'll see if I can find that picture again....

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

To each his/her own....

Rollback!

Is Wal*Mart ruining America? This is from the Frontline site you posted earlier... I really dislike the Mart as well. Although it's more expensive I'll shop at Target or a stand alone store before Wal*Mart...

Welcome to this site and to a faaaaaaaabulous fan family!!

Wal-mart's risque music Wal-Mart Sued Over Evanescence CD Lyrics By DAVID DISHNEAU, Associated Press Writer HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which promotes itself as a seller of clean music, deceived customers by stocking compact discs by the rock group Evanescence that contain the f-word, a lawsuit claims. The hit group's latest CD and DVD, "Anywhere But Home," don't carry parental advisory labels alerting potential buyers to the obscenity. If they did, Wal-Mart wouldn't carry them, according to the retailer's policy. But the lawsuit claims Wal-Mart knew about the explicit lyrics in the song, "Thoughtless," because it censored the word in a free sample available on its Web site and in its stores. The complaint, filed Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court, seeks an order requiring Wal-Mart to either censor or remove the music from its Maryland stores. It also seeks damages of up to $74,500 for each of the thousands of people who bought the music at Wal-Marts in Maryland. "I don't want any other families to get this, expecting it to be clean. It needs to be removed from the shelves to prevent other children from hearing it," said plaintiff Trevin Skeens of Brownsville. Skeens said he and his wife, Melanie, let their daughter buy the music for her 13th birthday and were shocked when they played it in their car while driving home. Wal-Mart, of Bentonville, Ark., has no immediate plans to pull the CDs from its shelves, spokesman Guy Whitcomb told The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail. He said the company will investigate the allegations. No hearing dates have been set. "While Wal-Mart sets high standards, it would not be possible to eliminate every image, word or topic that an individual might find objectionable," Whitcomb told the newspaper. He told the Herald-Mail that the song sample online was censored by Walmart.com, a separate division of Wal-Mart. Whitcomb didn't return telephone calls Friday from The Associated Press. The lawsuit also names as defendants Wind-up Records LLC, the New York-based company that recorded the music and decided not to apply parental-advisory stickers; and distributor BMG Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, of New York. Sony BMG declined to comment on the lawsuit. Wind-up didn't return calls from the AP. The Skeens' lawyer, Jon D. Pels of Bethesda, said he aims to "take this case national, even if that means going state by state." He dismissed Whitcomb's suggestion that Wal-Mart stores didn't know about the censored version of the song. "They are a multimillion-dollar corporation and they certainly can communicate among their various entities," he said.

Piaget's language development stuff is a lot more of observations of when a child does what...He wasnt' terribly concerned with the why or the how...And oddly, in the seminar I just took on cognitive development Piage was only mentioned in passing and that his greatest achievement was sort of throwing the doors open to developmental research... Skinner and Chomsky for many years had a back and forth fight about how a child actually ACQUIRES language (as opposed to when, and why it's important for that stage)...Skinner argued that language was learned and there was no innate quality to it. For him language acquisition was pretty much a form of conditioning. Chomsky said that we have all we need to learn language when we are born--and consequently, the input simply allows us to develop language. We aren't really learning anything we're just acquiring the language....Currently Chomsky is the big linguist, although Jenny Saffran at UW is making some huge progress against that theory that there's no learning to it...

Without Noam Chomsky language acquisition theories would be stuck back in the 1940s with Skinner.

Booooooo, hisssssssssssssssssssss, jeeeeeeeeeeeeeer. I would watch Noam anytime of the year--Especially Christmas.... Nothing says Christmas like a nativist.

It's a celebrity Christmas Charlie Brown! Link includes slideshow.... Nativity Scene With Beckham Causes Stir LONDON - Christian leaders denounced a nativity scene at a London wax museum featuring soccer star David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, a former Spice Girl, as the parents of Jesus. The waxwork tableau at Madame Tussauds museum included President Bush (news - web sites), British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) and Prince Philip as the three Wise Men, actors Hugh Grant (news) and Samuel L. Jackson as shepherds, and disco diva Kylie Minogue (news) as an angel. "There is a well-understood tradition that each generation interprets and reinterprets the nativity ... but, oh dear!" said the Rev. Jonathan Jenkins, spokesman for the archbishop of Canterbury, who leads the world's 77 million Anglicans. At the Vatican (news - web sites), a spokesman said it was unacceptable to have celebrities representing Jesus, Joseph or Mary. The spokesman mentioned the tradition in Naples of using celebrities such as Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona, but never as one of the principal figures. Madame Tussauds said it had respected this tradition, using a plastic doll in the manger. The other characters, it said, were chosen in a public vote that drew 300 ballots. "We're sorry if we have offended people," said Diane Moon, a spokeswoman for the museum.

Just like anything else it would depend on the carpet....

Just to add my 2 cents, Kate Winslet is the only woman that could make me dive in the bush as opposed to swing on the vine.

That's so awful. Prayers and kind thoughts to that family...

Northwoods Diet This cracks me up....I love it--and I can stick to it!!! Minn. Researcher Creates 'Northwoods Diet' By KARREN MILLS, Associated Press Writer MINNEAPOLIS - Florida's got the South Beach diet. Now Minnesota's got the "Northwoods Diet." That's what University of Minnesota professor David Bernlohr came up with as the solution when he noticed his waistline expanding. After all, he's an obesity researcher. Bernlohr said he'd fallen into the traditional American habits of skipping breakfast, eating too much and eating too late at night. So he put himself on his own diet — what he jokingly dubbed the "Northwoods Diet," poking fun at the fad diet industry and the popular South Beach diet. "I said if the beautiful people in South Florida can have South Beach, the hardworking people of Minnesota can have Northwoods," the professor said. His eating plan: Three meals a day with smaller portions and no food after 7:30 p.m. He starts with a carbohydrate-heavy breakfast such as cold cereal or oatmeal. He said the carbs stimulate production of insulin, a hormone that helps cells convert blood sugar to energy. Lunch is a transitional meal with both carbs and protein, often pizza. Dinner is heavier on protein, including meat, vegetables and salads. His rule against eating later in the evening adds to the time the body is naturally fasting — when he's sleeping. As for exercise, he said, he didn't change his normal pattern. He's always walked a lot. The approach "is just common sense to people who study nutrition or metabolism," said Bernlohr, who heads the university's department of biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics and leads a research team at the Minnesota Obesity Center. Bernlohr said he's lost 40 pounds over the last year and he looks trim. But he declines to disclose his weight, and says he's a little chagrined that his diet has attracted media attention. "This is not a scientific study. It's simply a catchy name," he said, adding that the principles he's following aren't new. It may not be new information, but people apparently aren't paying attention to what already is known about good diet habits. The federal government estimates about 65 percent of the adults in the United States — nearly 119 million people — are overweight or obese, which can lead to major health problems. The key to losing weight and staying trim? "Don't put as much on your plate. Park as far away from the mall as you can, not as close as you can. Walk more. Exercise more," Bernlohr said. And don't expect quick results. Allen Levine, director of the obesity center and head of the university's department of food science and nutrition, uses the analogy of the automobile to make that point. It takes minutes to fill the tank with gas, but hours to burn off the fuel. People have to balance the calories eaten with calories burned, he said. And people have to police themselves. "You can't have sex at your desk and you can't drink booze at your desk and you can't inject drugs at your desk, but you can eat a doughnut. Nobody's going to stop you," he said.