Benefits for the Elderly

A guy I work with tried to sell me today on the virtues of life insurance. He's only 19! Makes me wonder...but if you ARE 65 or older --which totally sounds like the beginnings of a life insurance commercial-- you should check out a website which conveniently brings together many different resources for checking to see if you are getting all the help that you can from the government. It's called Benefits Check Up, and it's put together by the National Council on Aging. If banks can borrow $50 billion dollars from the Federal Reserve, then the public should also utilize government services such as this.

Organic Foods' Probable Origins

Buying organic doesn't necessarily mean that you've beaten the system. Most organic foods are produced by names you recognize as purveyors of regular, mass-produced foods, such as Kraft, Coca-Cola, and Heinz. Here's a chart to help you sort it all out.

Bush's New Advisor

The Bush Administration is replacing a scientists named Dr. Jim Hansen who warns people about global warming with this yahoo:

Found here.

The Most Dangerous Roads in the World

Here's a compilation in in 5 parts of the most dangerous roads worldwide. It's provided by Dark Roasted Blend, which is worth seeing in and of itself, as it is a blog of other unique content. These roads have names like the 'Road of Death.'

Kitty Wigs

Funny but weird - cats with wigs...

Another Voter Resource

I heard about another great resource for voters called Glassbooth. You can rate certain mainstream issues on how you feel about them, and add weight to those that you feel are most important. The results display the people that you are most aligned with, and then you can click on each person to view their stance. The best part is the integration of the candidates' own quotes, that show you how they really stand on an issue. It's quick & easy; check it out.

GREEN PRINT IS NOW FREE!!

I'm so excited, because Green Print (see my previous post here) now has an ad-supported free version!! There's no excuse why you shouldn't be using this excellent program now. Want to feel like you're making an effort to reduce your footprint on the earth? Well, here's one way to start.

Multiple Underwater Cables Cut; Implications Ominous

Over the past month or so, 5 underwater internet / telecommunications cables have been cut. Why? What's the purpose? The blogger over at ilovebonnie.net has some interesting theories that are worth reading.

2008 Eco-Gadgets

Here's a list of some cool gadgets that are eco-friendly. Most are made from recycled and/or recyclable materials.

Grayson Capps & Bobby Long

Something extraordinary happened the other evening. LeAnne & I went out with some friends to see a guy named Grayson Capps play at a little blues joint in Gadsden. He was there with his band, The Stumpknockers, which consisted of a guy on drums, a hippie on bass guitar, and an electric guitar player that looked like a cross between James Taylor and Jimmy Buffet. We walked in and Grayson started off on the steel guitar, sitting down, with a cap tucking his hair back. He wiggled his leg around while he sat on the stool, much like Elvis would do with his hip swivel. All this while he slid his glass down the neck of the guitar. It was a bluegrass sound, with a hint of blues at first, which probably came just from the ambiance of the building. It was decorated much like New Orleans is during Mardi Gras--just an eclectic mix of everything from underwear on the wall to a life-size Homer Simpson doll to imaginative paintings. After several songs, he seemed to warm up, and switched to an electric guitar. He stood up, took his hat off, let his hair come down, and started to really jam. His music now had morphed into a Southern Bluesy Rock, with some hard driving licks from James-Jimmy.
In between the songs, he would say a little something about the background of why he wrote it or where it originated. So at one point, he starts talking about this guy named Bobby Long and Brewton. I was thinking, "I wonder if he's talking about Brewton, Alabama..." as in the place where I grew up as a child. Then I thought, nah, can't be...Until the opening line of the song was, "Brewton Alabama at the Colonial Inn." I was dumbstruck. During their setbreak, I talked with a friend and told him how I grew up in Brewton. So he tells me that this song about Brewton and about this guy named Bobby Long has some more history.
Evidently, Grayson Capps' father wrote a novel loosely based on a guy who lived in Brewton named Bobby Long. The guy was educated, and seemingly could have made something of himself. However, through some turn of events, he ended up becoming a destitute alcoholic. Anyway, back to Grayson...so his father wrote this novel, but never published it. Well, years later, Grayson is going to school at Tulane University in New Orleans, and is playing music in bars on the side. This woman happens to see his show one night and approaches him with an offer to be featured in her documentary about Americana music. She feels his music is just what she's looking for. So they eventually wrap up filming, and before she leaves, they sit down and he asks her what she's going to do next. He ends up offering her his father's yet to be published novel about Bobby Long. She says that she is intrigued, and if they ever end up making a movie based on it, she'll give him a call. Sure enough, a few years later, he gets a call from her saying they're going to start filming down in New Orleans. She had written a screenplay based on the novel and was about to turn it into a major movie with Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta called A Love Song for Bobby Long.
Back to the show...well, I heard from my friend about this movie & all, and I wanted to see what Grayson Capps would have to say about Brewton. Of course, I wanted a cd with that song on it, so I approached him and we talked a bit about Brewton, & then bought I a cd. He signed it "Natalie, To Brewton!" I was pretty tickled about that (My friends were laughing, saying that we were BFF's now. They show no mercy.).

Well, of course, all this reminescing about little ole Brewton made me want to go rent the movie to see what all that was about. LeAnne & I watched it tonight, and I've gotta say it ranks right up there with some of my favorites. I love movies that really make you think, and this one was so provoking. Of course, the movie really had nothing to do with Brewton, but it did tell a familiar tale of lives lost. I was extremely moved, and I already want to watch it again.
Now, this is all my perspective, so here's a link to Grayson Capps biography where he talks about this strange turn of events. Also, The Brewton Standard interviewed Ronald Capps about his novel and the direction the movie took.
If you want to hear some really good music, too, check out his website. I mean, this guy is awesome. Definitely worth the listen. Oh, and if you get a chance to see him live, do it. His band is interesting, too.
So that's my tale of my strange night out with my friends. I'm so glad I went.

Facebook's Ties With the CIA

Technology experts and headhunters have warned the general public that posting any information on the internet can be dangerous and sometimes outright devastating to your reputation, career, and your life. In addition, there are many privacy experts and analysts (e.g., watchdog groups) who warn that having your personal information accessible by others online, especially in one central place, can be a cause for concern because of how others can use this data. There are many benefits to using a website that socially connects you with others based on private information, which are inherently obvious, like being able to reconnect with old friends. I believe that people's use of these websites should be tempered with knowledge of just what it means and what implications lie in providing everyone with this information.
I recently found out about a possible connection between the CIA and Facebook. I think anyone who uses Facebook should watch this video in order to understand the connections. Also, their privacy statement leaves a lot of room for the exploitation of the information stored on their servers. You may just decide to delete that profile you have, and move on to something less questionable. I had considered using Facebook as a way to connect with others until I read about their history. I have now decided against it.

1984

Privacy is becoming more and more of an issue. I'll spare you the whole rigamarole about how in this day and age...with information becoming more accessible...yadda, yadda. Basically, we've all heard the reports about how technology is affecting our privacy. Well, here's something you should do about it. The World Privacy Forum has a list of their 'Top 10 Opt Outs.' They point out that this is not an all-inclusive list; rather, it's a list of the opt-outs they feel are most important. While you're there, check out the rest of their website.



On the issue of privacy, check this out. It's about how the NSA monitors web traffic. Telecom companies, like those that provide phone and internet services, have been spying on traffic for years, according to an AT&T whistleblower. I guess it's not anything that's a huge suprise, but I think it's important that this information be put out there. Also, when you visit this website, check out the video clip of Keith Olbermann interviewing this guy.

Just be aware that Big Brother is not going to come out of nowhere. It's going to slowly creep up on us. Check out this video on youtube about the North American Union, Real ID, and more. This scares me more than any horror movie.

FBI Forensic Test Shakedown

The FBI for years has said that it is possible to trace a single bullet back to a particular box of bullets. The method that they have used for decades has never come under scrutiny, and it has generally been accepted as scientific fact. However, a couple of years ago, it was proved that the evidence used to trace a single bullet back to one single box is not valid, and these identifying marks on the bullet actually can link back to hundreds of boxes, thereby eliminating this as a factor for determining the origin of said bullet. Despite the fact that this was exposed as 'flawed science,' the FBI continued to use this evidence to help convict people for up to a year afterwards. In addition, they have made no efforts to review convictions in which the cases were hinged on this 'evidence.' So 60 Minutes teamed up with The Washington Post to expose this injustice. What came of it, so far, is an expose that you can read at The Washington Post's website and on 60 Minutes' website.

Test Your Speed

Find out how your ISP stacks up!

Select a Candidate

There is an amazing tool out there put together by USA Today that helps you to better understand each of the candidates that are running for their party's nomination. It includes both Democrat and Republican candidates, and aligns your answers to key issues with those of the candidates. You can even add 'weight' to your answers by indicating which issues are most important to you. I've always wanted to be an informed voter, but sometimes I find that I really don't know what's going on with the whole process. I think this website really adds something to my knowledge of how the candidates feel about important issues.



As far as the Independents go, I'm guessing that this year is going to be Democrats vs. Republicans. I found a site on Wikipedia in regards to Independent parties that provides a wealth of information for those who are interested.