Friday

A Letter from Summer Camp

 
A Letter from Summer Camp

My uncle just sent a copy of this forwarded letter to several members of our family. Although the original source is uncertain, it is purported to be a real missive from an actual youngster at summer overnight camp.
 

 
Here’s the letter from summer camp:

Dear Mom,

Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and got worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.

Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue Jeeps. It was great. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.

Scoutmaster Ted got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas will blow up?

The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our clothes.
Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday, if Scoutmaster Ted gets the bus fixed. It wasn't his fault about the crash. The brakes worked okay when we left. Scoutmaster Ted said that with a bus that old, you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance.

We think it's a super bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the bumpers. It gets pretty hot with 45 people in a bus made for 24. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the policeman stopped and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Ted is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Horace how to drive on the mountain roads where there aren't any cops. All we ever see up there are huge logging trucks.

This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out to the rapids. Scoutmaster Ted wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast (it's concrete because we didn't have any plaster), so he let us take the canoe out. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood.

Scoutmaster Ted isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the bus so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.

Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Andrew dived into the lake and cut his arm, we all got to see how a tourniquet works.

Steve and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Ted said it was probably just food poisoning from the left-over chicken. He said they got sick that way with food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time. By the way, what is a pedal-file?

I have to go now. We are going to town to post our letters and buy some more beer and ammo. Don't worry about anything. We are fine, and tonight it's my turn to sleep in the Scoutmaster's tent.


What do you think?

Have you ever been to overnight camp? What stories can you tell about your experience?

Does this oldies music video (from 1963) evoke any summer camp memories for you?

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Wednesday

Who's Up for a Movie – July 21-27, 2010?


Who's Up for a Movie – July 21-27, 2010?

Have you seen a remarkable movie yet this summer? Here are some of the most popular motion pictures now running in cinemas.

Most Popular Movies Now Playing:

Countdown to Zero (opens this week)
Cyrus
Despicable M
Farewell (opens this week)
Grown Ups
Inception
Jonah Hex
Knight and Day
Life During Wartime (opens this week)
Predators
Ramona and Beezus (opens this week)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead
Salt (opens this week)
Spoken Word (opens this week)
Standing Ovation
The Karate Kid (2010)
The Kids Are Allright
The Last Airbender
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
The Twilight Sage: Eclipse
Toy Story 3
Valhalla Rising (opens this week)

Movies Coming Soon:

Cairo Time
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Charlie St. Cloud
Dinner for Schmucks
Eat, Pray, Love
Enemies of the People
Flipped
Get Low
Lottery Ticket
Middle Men
Morning Glory
Piranha 3D
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Step Up 3D
The A-Team
The Concert
The Disappearance of Alice Creed
The Dry Land
The Expendables
The Extra Man
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Other Guys
The Switch
Twelve

How many of these movies have you seen? What did you think? Which ones did you like the most … or the least?

What movies can you hardly wait to view?

How do you choose a movie to see? With cinema tickets priced at $8.00 or more (in most locations), what criteria do you use to measure which films are worth attending and which are best left to cable, satellite, Blu-Ray or DVD viewing?

Roll tape, and pass the popcorn.

(Movie promo posters - fair use photos)

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Monday

Sink Your Teeth into This One ... or Not

Sink Your Teeth into This One ... or Not

Has your doctor or dietician put you on a liquid diet? Are you on a no-solids fast?

Here's an actual set of food products that might set your mind a-chewing.



Wow - no refrigeration either?

Once upon a time, if we said someone drank his or her lunch, this was considered a slam, or a slamwich (if you will).

Weigh in, if you please. Would you rather have a Candwich ... or a sandwich? Would you feed your children a liquid sandwich in a can?

Saturday

What Are America's Top Earning Towns?


What Are America's Top Earning Towns?

Is your village valuable?

Are the streets in your city paved with gold? Does money seem to grow on trees where you live?

Recently, The Daily Beast (an online news highlight site) published a ranking of the top 20 U.S. cities for income levels. The findings (analyzing household incomes in major metropolitan areas across the U.S.) were based on a Regional Income Earnings Index by the Martin Prosperity Institute.

How does your own city stack up?

 Before you scroll down to see the roster of the top 20 richest U.S. cities (in terms of household incomes), see if you can guess correctly.

In which American cities do you think households rake in the most annual earnings? Do you think your own hometown made the top 20 list for yearly household incomes?

Here are the top 20 U.S cities for household earnings.

20. Honolulu, Hawaii
19. Fairbanks, Alaska
18. Worcester, Massachusetts
17. Rochester, Minnesota
16. New York City, New York
15. Baltimore, Maryland
14. Manchester – Nashua, New Hampshire
13. Oxnard – Thousand Oaks – Ventura, California
12. Boulder, Colorado
11. Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota
10. Hartford, Connecticut
9. Norwich – New London, Connecticut
8. Seattle, Washington
7. Anchorage, Alaska
6. Trenton – Ewing, New Jersey
5. Boston, Massachusetts
4. San Francisco, California
3. San Jose, California
2. Stamford, Connecticut
1. Washington, D.C.

Do the results surprise you? Why or why not?


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Thursday

Enjoy F-f-free McDonald's Fruit Smoothies July 22-24

Enjoy F-f-free McDonald's Fruit Smoothies July 22-24

McDonald's is introducing two brand-new fruit smoothies this month: Strawberry Banana and Wild Berry. To whet customers' appetites, McDonald's will offer free samples of their new fruit smoothies from July 22nd through July 24th.

If you like the McDonald's fruit smoothies, you can print out an online coupon for $1 off on any McDonald's fruit smoothie purchase (through August 18th) at participating U.S. McDonald's locations.

In 2009, McDonald's gave out free 7-ounce samples of their iced mochas and free 8-ounce hot mochas, stirring up interest in the company's new McCafe menu.

Brrr!

How about a free fruit smoothie?

Pounding Porky Pig: Who’s the Pig Now?


Pounding Porky Pig: Who's the Pig Now?

Porky Pig has taken an powder ... so to speak.


Two off-duty Six Flags Great America employees were ousted on July 14th from the Gurnee, Illinois, theme park after punching a female co-worker in a Porky Pig costume. The two young men, both from nearby Waukegan, Illinois, pounded the posing Porky Pig several times in the head – immediately after posing for photographs with the popular Warner Brothers/Looney Tunes  cartoon character.

Six Flags theme park security staffers stopped the melee and kept the two young adult males until local police showed up to arrest them on battery charges.

Porky Pig, portrayed by a 24-year-old Six Flags Great America employee, sustained several bruises, as well as a headache and stiff neck, from the incident. She was treated at a Six Flags Great America first aid office and released.

Oink! Oink! Who’s the Pig Now?

Theme park characters don hot and heavy costumes to entertain youngsters throughout warm-weather seasons at popular tourist attractions, such as Six Flags Great America and others. For example, at the Northern Illinois theme park, Porky Pig's colleagues include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepe LePew, The Road Runner, Scooby Doo, Sylvester the Cat, Taz The Tazmanian Devil, Tweety Bird, Wile E. Coyote, Yosemite Sam and many others.

Surely, these employees need not be subject to assault.

How would you weigh in on the treatment Porky Pig received at Northern Illinois’ Six Flags Great America?

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Friday

Moo-oove on in for free Chick-fil-A Today

Moo-oove on in for free Chick-fil-A Today

July 9th is Cow Appreciation Day, and Chick-fil-A is offering free chicken sandwiches in their 1,200-plus fast food restaurants to patrons who arrive dressed in cow costumes.

Kids get free meals too.

Also, today is the last day in the Chick-fil-A Cowstume Photo Contest (on Facebook). Winners receive free Chick-fil-A for a year. (Winners will be announced on August 13th.)

Holy cow.


"Don't have a cow." What does this mean? Unless the speaker is a dairy farmer or cattle rancher, the intent of the phrasing, "don't have a cow," is certainly other than literal. Let's beef up our understanding of what "don't have a cow" actually conveys.
 
July 9th is a holiday for sugar cookies and many purposes. Avid celebrants participate eagerly in marking July 9th as a most special day for so many different reasons. Here are several of the most popular July 9th holidays (arranged alphabetically).
Is July 9th your birthday? How will you celebrate this momentous occasion? With what notable individuals do you share your birth date?
 
What's "The Cow Prom"? Wisconsin's finest young cows and their formal-clad young owners paraded proudly in the coliseum of Wisconsin State Fair Park on Saturday, August 15th, during the Wisconsin State Fair. The winning cow received a $1,500 prize.
 

Wednesday

Orange You Glad ... ?

Orange You Glad ... ?

OK, somebody invite me to a picnic - fast! I want to bring the fresh fruit. Just saw this photo, and I can't wait to try this.

Maybe your mother always told you not to play with knives or sharp objects, but doesn't this little bit of juicy fruit carving sure look like creative fun?

Orange Man

I'm not sure about the identity of the photographer, as the link was forwarded to me. But I found it intriguing, nonetheless.

Thursday

Beastly Burgers


Beastly Burgers

The Daily Beast recently ranked 40 popular burgers for dietary dangers. Ratings were based on calories, saturated fat, sodium and carbohydrates.

CTRL-click here to view a slideshow on The Daily Beast, titled “40 Unhealthiest Burgers” – with specific food findings on the options they examined.

Here’s a quick low-down on the most beastly burgers of all, according to this study. (#1 is considered the most unhealthy of the top 40 choices.)

40. Sirloin Cheeseburger with Bacon – Jack-in-the-Box
39. Six Dollar Thickburger – Carl’s Jr.
38. Super Sonic Cheeseburger – Sonic
37. Half Pound Flame Thrower Grill Burger – Dairy Queen
36. Fire Pit Bacon Burger – Applebee’s
35. A1 Steakhouse XT – Burger King
34. Double Western Bacon Burger – Carl’s Jr.
33. Triple with Everything and Cheese – Wendy’s
32. Ground Peppercorn Burger with Bleu Cheese – Chili’s
31. Mega Bacon Cheeseburger – Sizzler Steakhouse
30. Bacon Cheeseburger – Outback Steakhouse
29. Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger – Carl’s Jr.
28. Whataburger Triple Meat – Whataburger
27. Mushroom Swiss Burger – Chili’s
26. Western Burger – Denny’s
25. Triple Whopper with Cheese – Burger King
24. Tillamook Burger – Houlihan’s
23. Shiner Bock BBQ Burger – Chili’s
22. Southwest Jalapeno Burger – Applebee’s
21. Bacon Deluxe Triple – Wendy’s
20. Classic Bacon Burger – Chili’s
19. Steakhouse Burger with A1 Steak Sauce – Applebee’s
18. Western Bacon Six Dollar Burger – Carl’s Jr.
17. Double Thickburger – Hardee’s
16. Cowboy Burger – Applebee’s
15. Cheeseburger – Perkins
14. Double Bacon Cheese Thickburger – Hardee’s
13. Philly Burger – Applebee’s
12. Texas Triple Whopper – Burger King
11. Monster Thickburger – Hardee’s
10. Sassy Pepper Jack Burger – Perkins
9. Quesadilla Burger – Applebee’s
8. Baconator Triple – Wendy’s
7. Double Cheeseburger – Denny’s
6. The Tanglin’ Burger – Perkins
5. The Bloomin’ Burger – Outback Steakhouse
4. BBQ Bacon Supreme Burger – Perkins
3. Sunrise Burger – Perkins
2. 4 x 4 – In-and-Out
1. Jalapeño Smokehouse Burger – Chili’s

Are you surprised to find that McDonald’s Big Mac (with close to 575 calories) didn’t even make the list?

Of these 40 burgers, rated as the unhealthiest, 35 contain more than 1,000 calories. The remaining five come pretty close as well.

Do you want fries with that?


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