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James Stabile Info Blog |
News Blog |
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In this newsletter you will find monthly updates and editorials concerning the issues of extreme importance and interest to the site's creator and owner James Stabile. These issues include - Discussion of the Month; Entertainment; Health, Fitness & Lifestyle; Politics and the World; Religion & Spiritualism; Technology & Business; and Too Strange, Weird or Just Funny. Peruse the articles and if you desire, send comments, questions or join our mailing list. Feel absolutely free to email ideas and topics to be discussed in upcoming months. As always do not feel obligated to participate. For the legal issues: please read the disclaimer at the top of this page. Also, please email the webmaster information concerning any programming errors that you may discover on this site. Thank you for this opportunity. Owner,
Webmaster: James Stabile |
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Thought For The Month "Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Jack
Benny
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Image Of The Month |
Dates Important To The Webmaster 1. Mom Birthday Remembered |
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Topics of Discussion
Discussion of The Month March 2006. Will March roar in like a lion or gently come in like a lamb? You do know the old saying, if March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb and vice versa. I have always liked the beginning of March. Besides being my Mother's birthday, March 1, the start of March always brings freshness, sights and smells of a new springtime. Ash Wednesday really is late this year, not to mention Easter. People of faith will be spending March 2006 in preparation for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ash Wednesday starts the Lenten fasting, contemplating and preparatory good works of Catholics as well as people of many other Christians religions. This is one of my favorite times of the year. For me, it gives me the reason for my Catholicism. It substantiates my faith. No matter what the moral majority, the conservative evangelicals say, no one has proof of the existence of God and His kingdom. We believe because we have faith. This faith is a gift - you either have it or you don't. No words, no false prophesying and no gimmicks will adequately prove the point, the proof is in faith. It is faith and our behavior that will determine our eventual spiritual salvation. More about faith next month. One of my favorite veteran actors died February 24, 2006, Don Knotts. I think that he was a great actor. He will go down in TV history for his role as Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show. I remember seeing him at the movies in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. They were very funny movies, I laughed out loud many times during those movie and I still do every time I see the movies over and over again, movie treasures. Don Knotts was outstanding in Three's Company, another TV historic legend. Good-by Barney, we will miss you. I will leave this section of the news blog with a short comment concerning the Thought For The Month, age truly doesn't matter. Take if from Jack Benny, the eternal 39 year old man, age is really a case of mind over matter. Jack Benny, TV, the big screen and entertainment icon, a great entertainment personality. I can still remember his show. Well (in the Jack Benny sense), at least I know for sure that I remember watching his show on TV Land on Sunday morning a matter of months ago. I hope TV Land keeps broadcasting the old, great ones, so we can continue to remember those golden days of television. Entertainment Final Destination 3...horror, violence, guts and blood, and then more of the same. It wasn't as good as the previous two movies of the same name. This movie was sickening. It is definitely not for children or the faint of heart. Firewall with Harrison Ford was a great movie. It was interesting, moderately violent and presented a timely message. Harrison Ford played a bank executive who was being forced to compromise bank security under pressure from a group of clever thugs. The movie was almost a clone of Air Force One in the sense that it was an action movie about a man doing superhuman type feats to protect his family and the American way. In any case, it was still an enjoyable adventure. Running Scared I don't know about this movie. I would not recommend it to anyone, except maybe the person who stole my wallet last weekend, but I digress. The movie was terrible. It was extremely violent and vulgar. It was so vulgar and violent that I had to turn my head, gulped and awed more than once, actually many, many times. The only good thing about it was the main character Paul Walker. He is becoming one of my favorite young male actors. He also stars in Eight Below which I haven't seen, yet. It is a Disney movie, but appears to be quite good. That should be my next movie. When A Stranger Calls was violent and terror producing from the first scene of the movie. It starred relatively unknown actors, at least unknown to me. It was classic terror. It was so predictable that the terror was not really shocking or scary. At times I even felt like laughing at the overused and over played terror scenes. It was almost like a spoof on terror movies. In any case, it was entertaining, a short 83 minutes in length and a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I must say that the audience was obnoxious. I guess the 20 or so patrons were not really obnoxious, just talkative and noisy. I don't think that they meant to be, but they were a little more active and vocal than I would have like them to be. One young teen was talking on her cell at the very start of the movie. She seemed to be giving one of her friends a reaming due to the friend's behavior at a previous social event. You know how teenage girls are, but that episode set the stage, so to speak, for the behavior of the audience throughout the entire movie. I can't say that I should have complained, the noise was quite subtle and really not annoying. The environment seemed to be strange, like the movie. Health, Fitness and Lifestyle Florida has the ninth highest suicide rate in the nation. I certainly can understand that statistic. I have always considered Florida the run away state. The droves of people migrating to Florida over the years are usually people running away from something. It could be as simple as the weather or as drastic as a lost love relationship or a lost job or a variety of reasons. In any case, people escape to Florida for a variety of reasons. Many times these same people find themselves exactly in the same situation that they were in before they migrated. Why? Change is only cosmetic unless it involves a change in the individual. Real change is only accomplished by intensive, truthful and realistic self reflection. Then after this self reflection, action must follow. The person must set realistic goals and objectives. Real and lasting change is realized by thoughtful, intense and dedicated journeys. Another statistic about the suicide rate in Florida, the state's highest suicide rate is among people 65 and older. Understandable? Sure, Florida rates high in the number of senior citizens residing in the state. The high number of seniors yields high suicide rates when compared to other age groups, but there are other factors at play here. Seniors often times start to develop terminal illnesses that last for the rest of their lives. A senior who is already a little debilitated due to the aging process must feel devastated if he or she is suddenly stricken by a deadly terminal illness. This feeling must be even more chronically felt if the person is alone due to death of a life partner, family or friends. Depression and alcohol abuse runs rampant in the senior citizen population. Both can be products of loneliness and feelings of desperation. Bottom line, if you know a senior, make his or her life a little brighter by including the person in your life. Let the senior talk and you listen for a change. Make the senior feel important and vital for your own happiness. Being a senior, I will be awaiting your call. Politics and the World The Vice President shoots his friend. A sitting vice president of the United States of America has not shot another man since Aaron Burr, 200 years ago. Vice President Cheney's accident, and it was an accident, is not the issue. The issue is the manner in which the mishap was handled. The Vice President feels that he is above the chain of command and protocol established by the President. Cheney feels that he is a maverick and laws and procedures governing ordinary men and women do not apply to him. President Bush seems to let Vice President Cheney get away with this behavior and attitude. President Bush should publicly admonish the Vice President. The President must regain the power and respect of the office of president. He should make it known that he, George W. Bush is in charge. If for no other reason, because George W. Bush is the President of the United states of America. If the President goes along with the course of events involving Cheney, his actions and attitude, it will appear to the American people that the President of the United States is not in control of the office and more importantly, it would suggest that the Bush Administration condones the Vice President's behavior and attitudes. As former President Richard M. Nixon said when the Watergate investigation started, "The American people want to know if their President is a crook". The current White House has been very secretive, selective and misleading in it's governing - domestic as well as foreign. Is this the President's legacy? Is this the Vice President's legacy. In Pennsylvania politics, a state that is very dear to the heart of this webmaster, in the days following the Pittsburgh Steelers beautiful Super Bowl XL win, it appeared that former Steeler and GOP gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann was making headway in the political polls against current Democratic Governor Ed Rendell. It doesn't look that way as of February 16. The Quinnipiac University poll conducted February 8-13, showed Governor Rendell leading Swann 48 percent to 36 percent. Pennsylvania is a blue state, albeit a wavering blue state, but usually Pennsylvania goes Democrat. I think the race will tighten a bit, but Rendell will be victorious in November 2006. Religion and Spiritualism E-Praying unites people of faith no matter where they exist in the world. The Internet, the informational highway, is being used in the celebration of the Word of God. That's the good news. The bad news - sometimes this e-praying leads to unsavory, illegal and unethical use of the Word of God. Prayer is good, alone or united with others, however, anytime praying or religious celebrations appear on the Internet - person who prays, beware. Beware of the source of that Internet prayer group. Beware of the message presented by that prayer web page. Beware of the monetary cost of that Internet prayer group. Prayer is and should remain a private, personal matter. Praying alone is OK. Jesus told His apostles to pray alone, to go to their closets and pray alone. When prayer is done for "looks" or for any other reason than for the glory of God, it's wrong. Looks are deceiving. Don't be fooled by those "holier than thou" types and their insincere worship to the Lord God. Pray in the manner that best fits you. Do not be affected by those people who seem to know the "best" way to pray. The "best" way to pray is the sincere, unassuming and simple expression of love for God and to one another. The best way for you, is your way. Technology and Business South Florida housing market is cooling off. I suspect that the housing markets of other one time hot markets across the United States are cooling off, too. Sales aren't what the used to be. For-Sale signs are going up. Prices are coming down, at least a little. I don't think the prices will fall drastically, real estate is still hot, just not as hot as it was a few years ago. Prices will definitely level off to a more conservative estimate, but they won't plummet. Incentives for buyers and real estate agents are increasing. It is becoming a buyers markets. Buyers can negotiate with sellers. Interest rates are increasing and credit requirements are becoming more stringent. The housing boom is over, at least stabilizing a bit. Got an itch to get a new, upgraded computer? The prices are definitely competitive these days, but do you really need a computer upgrade? I've been contemplating upgrading my computer for over 3 years now. Back in 2000, I had the top of the line in home PC's - a full 1GB processor, 512 MB of Ram, DVD, CD R/W, 19 inch standard monitor, one of Dell's best. It wasn't long until my PC was outdated. Outdated, but practical and OK for me. In 2002 I did purchase a notebook, 1.7 GB processor, etc., etc., etc. I won't bore you with the details. Last December I decided to upgrade to an extent. I started using my notebook as a desktop, connecting it to a monitor, keyboard, etc., etc. In a sense, I have upgraded without buying anything, except a couple inexpensive pieces of hardware to ensure the successful transition of my traditional notebook to a desktop-like computer. Back to my original point concerning computer upgrades, upgrades should be determined on an individual basis. The decision to upgrade and spend more money should be a function of need not want. It's like buying a new car. Some people buy a new car only when their current car is totally worn out or at the point of being more of a bother and liability than reliable transportation. Other people buy a new car every few years, in most cases because they just want a newer model. Same with computers. My philosophy, unless you have money to waste, upgrade only when practicality or need is the motivating factor not want. Too Strange, Weird or Just Funny The President of the United States thinks there is nothing wrong, inappropriate or dangerous in letting an Arab governmental group operate and manage six major sea ports in the United states of America. Unbelievable. What's even more unbelievable is the fact that other foreign companies operate similar American ventures. Are there not American companies capable of doing such work? To exclude a company because they are Arab is racist, but security sensitive area should not be managed or operated by any foreign governments or groups. Let Americans do it. Of course, even Americans must be subject to security and other screenings deemed appropriate by Homeland Security and other appropriate American governmental offices. |
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