maybe the trip to Cagayan this coming September 18 and 19 will help me clear my mind from the useless clutter that's in it right now...Lord please i need Your help.... :(

anyway... i can't help but feel a bit excited and anxious at the same time... i'm hoping all for the best...

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so we finally were able to take our online exam in MOLE, and gosh, it was really hard... i just hope that the passing grade would be 50% or else, too bad for me.... we took the test in an internet cafe (known as GAMERS).. and we were so noisy and the other customers were laughing while watching us scream for answers and getting all nervous because of the few minutes left until the exam closes... whew...

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(this must be my shortest post ever....)

jajaja amo este video

"pinche charolón, apoco se van a comer toda esta mierda" palabras que han quedado grabadas en mi ADN.

Avogadro's Number

Listen to sounds of: aardvark, addax ,alligator, alpaca, anteater, antelope, aoudad, ape, argali, armadillo, ass, baboon, badger, basilisk, bat ,bear, beaver, bighorn     bison, boar, budgerigar, buffalo, bull, bunny, burro, camel, canary, capybara, cat, chameleon, chamois, cheetah, chimpanzee, chinchilla, chipmunk, civet, coati, colt, cony, cougar, cow, coyote, crocodile, crow, deer, dingo, doe, dog, donkey, dormouse, dromedary, duckbill, dugong, eland, elephant, elk, ermine, ewe, fawn, ferret, finch, fish, fox, frog, gazelle, gemsbok, gila, monster, giraffe, gnu, goat, gopher, gorilla, grizzly bear, ground hog, guanaco, guinea pig, hamster, hare, hartebeest, hedgehog, hippopotamus, hog, horse, hyena, ibex, iguana, impala, jackal, jaguar, jerboa, kangaroo, kid, kinkajou, kitten , koala, koodoo, lamb, lemur, leopard, lion, lizard, llama, lovebird, lynx, mandrill, mare, marmoset, marten, mink, mole, mongoose, monkey, moose, mountain, goat, mouse, mule, musk deer, musk-ox, muskrat, mustang, mynah bird, newt, ocelot, okapi, opossum, orangutan, oryx, otter, ox, panda, panther, parakeet, parrot, peccary, pig, platypus, polar bear, pony, porcupine, porpoise, prairie dog, pronghorn, puma, puppy, quagga, rabbit, raccoon, ram,  rat, reindeer, reptile, rhinoceros, roebuck, salamander, seal, sheep, shrew, silver fox, skunk, sloth, snake, springbok, squirrel, stallion, steer, tapir, tiger, toad, turtle, vicuna, walrus, warthog, waterbuck, weasel, whale, wildcat, wolf, wolverine, wombat, woodchuck, yak, zebra, zebu etc... All on: http://www.SoundLantern.com/

I'm one of those people who likes to do a lot of research before traveling somewhere. And much of that research involves where to find great food.

One name kept popping up as I investigated the Salt Lake City restaurant scene: Red Iguana.

Red Iguana reportedly serves the best Mexican food in Salt Lake City. I was skeptical since I didn't think many Mexicans live in SLC. Best compared to what? Azteca? (Not that I don't enjoy Azteca. But still.) However, my friends Sarah and Damon confirmed that Red Iguana had excellent food, and we made plans to go there for Sunday brunch.

One of Red Iguana's specialties is mole, a sauce made of dried and fresh chiles, nuts, spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables. Mole is often called Mexico's national dish. There are seven different varieties of mole on the Red Iguana menu.

I had the huevos motulenos: poached eggs and carnitas with mole amarillo (made with golden raisins, yellow tomatoes, yellow zucchini, chile guajillo and dried seasonal yellow chiles). All of this was topped with big fat pieces of bacon. Every bite was delicious, and the mole amarillo had none of the cloying sweetness that I've experienced with other mole sauces in the past.

This photo doesn't do it justice and actually makes it look kind of gross (poor lighting ruins everything):
[caption id="attachment_167" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Huevos motulenos"][/caption]

I also sampled Sarah's salmon chimichanga, which was one of the day's specials. This kind of dish is served all the time in Seattle, but how would it be in a landlocked state? It was great!

My husband ordered the spareribs, which I had never seen offered on any Mexican restaurant menu before. It's good he got a huge portion because I probably ate a quarter of his meal. The spareribs were incredibly tender. They were sneaky spicy -- the heat took awhile to develop on the tongue and hit me when I least expected it. The succulent meat tucked in flour tortillas was a simple pleasure.

My first taste of Salt Lake City's culinary landscape was utterly delicious and surprising. It made me hungry for more.

Yesterday I got home, changed out of my work clothes, played ball with Grady, grabbed a handful of pizza fish to nibble, and sat down to watch the Westing Game. Do you remember that book from third grade? It was the first murder mystery that I remember reading. I loved it. The movie? Sucked. Poo.

Hubby came home and we surfed the channels a bit. At one point he paused the TV to talk about his day, and this is what he paused. I had to capture it.

I will eat you!

I overdosed on Rachael Ray when we first discovered Thirty Minute Meals a while ago. Now her voice just drives me crazy. But yesterday she was making something cool and there was nothing else on and eh? We got this picture. Which I will treasure forever. PS - Rachael. If you change your fugly kitchen back to the way it was in the first season I will try to watch again. The cabinets you have now? Grody. They look like the cabinets from my sister's kitchen playset when she was 5.

I made dinner and we watched Smart People. Have you heard of this movie? It stars Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church and Ellen Page. And I kind of loved it. It was quirky and cute. And yes, smart. I mean, it's no Moonstruck, but I can see watching it every now and again for fun. You see, Dennis plays a curmudgeon college professor who falls for Sarah, who is an ER doc. Dennis's daughter is Juno, and she hates Sarah for trying to replace her dead mom (a misunderstanding). And T.H. Church plays the shiftless layabout adopted brother of Dennis. Highjinks ensue.

And I would like to say this, for the record. I like Sarah Jessica Parker. I think that she is very pretty. I think she is smart. And I don't think that she should have bowed to the pressure of stupid society and had her facial mole removed. It was a signature. Unless, of course, it was cancerous, or something, in which case good on you Sarah, for ripping that sucker off.

In conclusion:

Westing Game book = good

Westing Game movie = bad

Rachael Ray's new kitchen = bad

Smart People = good

Sarah Jessica Parker = good

Facial cancer = bad

P.S. - Sarah, email me. We'll be best of friends, and email all the time, and hate on the haters. WORD!

What dermal dance of molecules precipitated this arrival? What new regime in those distant cellular worlds? A melanocytic kingdom, newly formed and hopeful ; young nobles filled with romantic optimism? Or cruel robber barons staining the land with their dysplastic deceit?

I'll take the former...the approach of a new moon ; a new cycle begins. Una oportunidad nueva y valiente.

So welcome young companion. But be warned, comport yourself well, I'll tolerate no malignance here.

1 large breakfast smoothie (5)

• 1 6oz cup fat free vanilla yogurt (organic)
• 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1 tsp wheat germ
• 1 tsp flaxseed
• 1 Tbs dried unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 Tbs honey
• 1 packet Amazing Grass Green Superfood

Lunch:

• 1 wedge Laughing Cow light garlic & herb cheese (1)
• 4 Kashi Stoneground 7-Grain crackers (2)
• 1 cup Dr. McDougall's vegan miso noodle soup (3)

Snack:

• 1 Edy's Creamy Coconut frozen fruit bar (2)

Dinner (Planned):

• 2 servings chicken mole (homemade) (6)
• 3 flour tortillas (3)
• 3 servings light sour cream (3)
• 1/2 cup fiesta veggie mix, steamed (1)

Total Points used today: 26

Notes:

My new favorite things are: the light garlic and herb cheese from Laughing Cow, and the Edy's coconut fruit bars.  Both are delicious, satisfying, and very low in Points!  The vegan miso noodle soup wasn't bad, either.  Altogether, today's meals were adventurous and tasty.

Yesterday, RBO began reposting Evelyn Pringle's Operation Board Games series of articles. During this week, RBO readers can look forward to reposts of all the Cliff Notes version of these articles, as well as reposts of John Batchelor's trio of articles from Human Events, and some more condensed articles similar to the one posted August 14, 2008, on "Obama's Weathermen Ayers and Dohrn".

This is part 2 of "Curtain Time for Barack Obama"—and the second in a series of condensed articles on "Operation Board Games"—written by Evelyn Pringle, a columnist for OpEd News and an investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America. Links for full-length articles in the original 6-part series are here.

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald does not make a habit of destroying pubic officials by listing them in indictments for no reason and the only two political candidates identified as receiving money from Operation Board Games kickback schemes are Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and the US Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama.

Obama was the inside guy in the Illinois senate as far as setting up the Health Facilities Planning Board scheme to extort kickbacks from companies in exchange for the approval of applications to build medial facilities.

He was chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee in January 2003.

A review of senate records shows Obama played a major role in pushing through Senate Bill 1332, that led to the "Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act," which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, making the votes much easier to rig.

Democratic Senator Susan Garrett sponsored the bill, and the co-sponsor was Republican Senator Dale Righter. These two senators were also on the Human Services Committee with Obama. The bill was assigned to the Committee for review on February 27, 2003. As chairman, Obama sent word to the full senate that the bill should be passed on March 13.

Blagojevich made the effective date June 27, 2003, and the co-schemers already had the people lined up to stack the Board and rig the votes with full approval from Obama.

The Republicans and Democrats worked together in setting up the scheme because the Combine as a whole would profit. During the Rezko trial, Stuart Levine testified that when he sought reappointment to the Board, he told Republican co-schemer, William Cellini, to tell the Blagojevich administration he would vote however they wanted.

He told the jury he had the same understanding with the two prior Republican governors, Jim Edgar, and George Ryan, who is now sitting in prison due to Fitzgerald’s successful prosecution of a corruption case against him.

A June 2003 email exchange produced in the trial shows Obama received the names of the nominees for the Board ahead of time, from the office of David Wilhelm, who headed Blagojevich's 2002 campaign. Rezko's attorney made the point to the jury that the email was from Blagojevich's general counsel and Wilhelm's office, and indicated the appointees were recommended by Wilhelm and supported by those who received the memo.

The new Senate bill said, the “Board shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate." But the Senate Confirmation Hearings were a joke. For instance, the Feds recorded Levine talking to co-schemer, Jon Bauman, the day Levine learned he was approved by the Senate from the executive secretary of the Board.

He told Levine Senate President, Emil Jones, only allowed 2 members to be approved and "that was you and the other person he just put in."

"Isn't that hysterical 'cause you know they had this big battle going on," Levine told Bauman, "don't you just love it."

"I'm one of those independents and not part of the block."

"Well, good, you know it's good to be just a true independent civil servant," Bauman said laughing along with Levine.

"Is, is that a good thing," Levine replied, "I've never been that."

Corrupt appointees fund Obama and Blagojevich campaigns

The corrupt new appointees were all contributors to the presidential hopeful, Rod Blagojevich, and the US senate hopeful Obama. The Board’s then sitting-chairman, Thomas Beck, appointed by a Republican governor, testified under a grant of immunity that he brought a $1,000 check to Rezko on July 15, 2003, to make sure Blagojevich reappointed him.

Beck also testified that Rezko told him Blagojevich was set to appoint Rezko’s three doctor friends to complete the rigged voting bloc.

Dr Michel Malek gave Obama $10,000 a little over a month before the first Board meeting on June 30, 2003. He also donated $25,000 to Blagojevich three weeks later on July 25, 2003, and gave Obama another $500 in September 2003.

Dr Fortunee Massuda donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003, and gave a total of $2,000 to Obama on different dates. Massuda's husband, Charles Hannon, is a co-schemer in the pension fund case and testified against Rezko in the trial.

Dr Imad Almanaseer contributed a total of $3,000 to Obama after he landed the appointment. On March 13, 2008, Almanaseer testified against Rezko and told the jury he was an investor in Rezko's fast-food businesses.

Corrupt Planning Board in action

The first project approved was for Mercy Health Systems, for which Bear Stearns served as a bond underwriter. The deal was to earn $1.5 million contribution for Blagojevich.

In attempt to seal the deal ahead of time, when Mercy's application was submitted to Planning Board staff for review, the Department of Human Services sent a letter on October 23, 2003, to Donald Jones, Acting Supervisor of Project Review, with a recommendation for approval. Blagojevich’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Department of Public Aid, the Department of Aging and the Department of Revenue, also sent letters urging approval for Mercy.

The Planning Board staff still recommended rejection. On March 11, 2008, Jones told the jury that experts found the application failed to meet 18 criteria for the establishment of a new hospital. He said it was also too close to other hospitals that had too many empty beds and services not fully utilized. Although the application was rejected the first time, Mercy moved for reconsideration and won approval at the April 21, 2004 meeting.

After helping set up the Planning Board, Dave Wilhelm became a consultant for Edward Hospital. Edward also wanted to build a new hospital. On April 9, 2008, Levine testified that he met with Wilhelm and another Edward lobbyist in the summer of 2003, and came away with the impression that Wilhelm's contribution to the team was clout with the Blagojevich administration.

Wilhelm's investment firm, Hopewell Ventures, also received approval for deals from the Teacher pension fund. On April 10, 2008, Levine told the jury, "Mr. Rezko told me that Gov. Blagojevich and Mr. Rezko wanted to keep track of what clients Mr. Wilhelm had before various boards in the state of Illinois."

Rezko and the governor wanted "to assess the value of Mr. Wilhelm's contribution to helping Gov. Blagojevich," Levine testified. Wilhelm's clients should not win business "unless I was specifically told by Mr. Rezko that he wanted him to be successful," he said.

Levine then got word to Edward officials that Wilhelm was on the outs with Blagojevich and set up a scheme to convince Edward that their application would be approved if Edward hired a construction company owned by Kiferbaum to build the new medical center and hospital and Bear Stearns as a $200 million bond underwriter.

As a member of the Planning Board, Levine was prohibited from engaging in ex parte communications with applicants with matters pending before the Board. So Kiferbaum and Republican insider, P. Nicholas Hurtgen, met Edward CEO, Pam Davis, in place of Levine.

Hurtgen wanted his employer, Bear Stearns, to receive the financing work. Davis asked Kiferbaum and Hurtgen to prove they were telling the truth about Levine’s role by setting up a meeting with Levine.

Levine agreed to set up a meeting where he and Hurtgen would just happen to bump into to Davis and Kiferbaum at a restaurant. Levine instructed Kiferbaum to tell Davis not ask anything direct about her project because of the bar against ex parte communications.

But the extortion attempt backfired when Davis went to the Feds and kicked off the investigation now known as Operation Board Game. The Feds moved in on Levine on May 20, 2004. In his plea agreement, Levine acknowledged the benefit from the Edward scheme would have been about $1,810,000.

Feds track Obama's visits to Rezko

In the media, Obama always made it sound like he rarely saw Rezko, saying they met once or twice a year. However, the FBI mole John Thomas helped investigators “build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko ... by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005,“ according to the February 10, 2008 Sun-Times.

During his March 14, 2008 interview, the Times told Obama, Thomas is an FBI mole and he "recently told us that he saw you coming and going from Rezko's office a lot."

"And three other sources told us that you and Rezko spoke on the phone daily."

This issue may be sorted out soon enough because Fitzgerald’s charts matching up Obama’s contributions, visits and calls are bound to be every bit as thorough as the ones produced to prove Rezko is guilty as charged in the first trial.

As an example of what records might be squirreled away, an FBI agent presented a chart to the jury on April 28, 2008, showing a list of all calls between Levine and Rezko from November 2002 to May 2004. Rezko’s attorney brought out a point that backs the assertion that just because records were not shown, does not mean they do not exist.

The attorney questioned the agent about missing calls, and specifically those to and from Christopher Kelly. The agent first said records were not available, but later admitted the government probably does have records on Kelly that were not available to him.

Planning Board Scheme unravels

When interviewing with the Sun-Times, Obama claimed not to know Rezko was under investigation for influence peddling in the months leading up to June 2005, stating:

"During the time that I was purchasing the house, there were some noises about Tony having potential problems. But they . . . hadn't risen to the attention that they ultimately would."

Obama was still chairman of the Human Services Committee when lawmakers learned Fitzgerald was on to the scheme in the spring of 2004, a year before Obama entered into the real estate deal. On July 11, 2004, the Sun-Times reported: “A key Blagojevich fund-raiser, Tony Rezko, played a role in recommending appointees to the board.”

With stories appearing about the scandal almost daily, Illinois House Speaker, Michael Madigan, introduced legislation to fire the board and Blagojevich had no choice but to issue an executive order in July 2004, stating:

“In light of recent allegations concerning the propriety of certain board actions, the governor hereby imposes a moratorium on all meetings and actions of the board until the board is reconstituted by law.”

Both the House and Senate voted to give all members the boot on July 24, 2004. But Obama's name is conspicuously missing from the session when Bill 7307 was passed.

The transcripts from July 2004 show lawmakers were outraged. However, nothing much changed, because the new bill included the same process for appointing members to the new Board. During the July 24 session, Senator Peter Roskam questioned the wisdom of passing a bill that is "silent as to any changes in the vetting."

Referring to Blagojevich, he noted the current "vetter" and "backgrounder" who "placed all of these individuals on the Health Facilities Planning Board, apparently completely failed in that vetting and backgrounding."

The bill "leaves the same amount of authority in the same person that we're criticizing implicitly today for failing to appoint good people," he said.

Senate President Jones defended the process and the corrupt members. “Let it be understood,” he said, “that those mere allegations were against -- were made as regard to members who had been reappointed, and that’s the Chairman and several other members had been reappointed to the Board.”

“And so, this legislation is in no way to say that the Governor’s Office didn’t do its proper job,” Jones stated. He also told his fellow lawmakers, “this bill does not cast any aspersions on any current Board members because they are mere allegations.“

“We don’t know any facts,” he said.

During the session, Senator Kirk Dillard had the audacity to ask Jones, "is there anything in this bill that prohibits a member of the Health Facilities reconstituted Planning Board from giving campaign contributions to politicians?"

"No, that's not included in the Act," Jones answered.

"So, it would still be possible for somebody to give a large, say twenty-five-thousand- dollar contribution one day to a political figure and get reappointed or appointed to this Board a couple of days later?" Dillard asked.

"There is no such prohibition," Jones said.

Indictment headlines non-stop during Obama's real estate deals

The first indictment in the case came a month before the mansion deal was finalized. On May 9, 2005, CBS Channel 2 Chicago, reported, "Stuart Levine is accused of using his position on a powerful state health board to cut himself and his buddies in on hospital construction contracts worth $113 million."

Hurtgen and Kiferbaum were indicted as well. John Glennon, a former adviser to Republican Governor Ryan, was also charged with “criminal conspiracy for concealing kickbacks in the financing and construction of two Illinois hospitals and lying to federal authorities." Combine member Glennon gave $1,000 to Obama on January 8, 2004.

On May 20, 2005, the Times said, “Two Rezko associates gave Blagojevich $25,000 each just days after the governor named them to a state panel.” However, the Times either failed to notice, or failed to mention, that Malek gave Obama $10,000 on June 30, 2003.

Less than 3 months before Obama bought 10-feet of the lot from Rezko, on October 31, 2005, the Times reported: “Investigations of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and state Teachers' Retirement System have yielded federal charges against six people.”

Obama's senate finance committee during Planning Board scheme

In 2003 and 2004, Obama's finance committee raised the money as the Planning Board scheme was set up and the scandal unraveled. Besides Rezko, other members included Rezko's wife Rita, and Valerie Jarrett. Jarrett got her start into a lucrative real estate career in Mayor Richard Daley's administration. She now serves as chairman of Obama's presidential finance committee.

Jarrett racked up eight years in Chicago government, first as deputy corporation counsel for Finance and Development, then as deputy chief of staff to Daley and finally, as commissioner of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development, according to a summary of her achievements obtained from the Business Week website on April 8, 2008.

While serving as Commissioner, Jarrett "consolidated the Department of Planning, Economic Development and Urban Renewal; implemented a model program for the revitalization of three Chicago neighborhoods; and created a business express unit to cut red tape to service Chicago businesses," says the Cook County Information Center.

Obama's introduction into the "Combine" came when his wife Michelle was hired by Jarrett in the early 1990s, and served as her assistant in Daley’s office and followed Jarrett to the Department of Planning and Development.

Jarrett was appointed chairman of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board in June 2006 and made chairman of a newly created Executive Committee of that Board, according to a June 13, 2006 University announcement. In addition, Jarrett was named vice-chair of the University's Board of Trustees, the announcement states.

Michelle landed a job at the University of Chicago Hospital. Two months after Obama became a senator, she was made a vice president. Tax returns show the promotion nearly tripled her pay to $317,000 in 2005, from $122,000 in 2004.

Evelyn Pringle can be contacted at evelyn-pringle@sbcglobal.net.

She's a long way from her Sex and the City days!

Fleeing to Ireland to escape the press and her marital problems, SJP ran down to the creek to wash her bloomers before sundown.  Yes, she had her mole removed, it was an attempt to throw the press off her cheating husband story.  Gross who really gives a fuck? Should have had it removed ages ago!

Don't have much time today, so I'm just going to present you with a selection from a series of Czechoslovakian cartoons by artist Zdenek Miler involving a Mole and a Mouse.

They may be aimed at children, but with the style they are done in, I'm thinking of them more as art films then anything.

Krtek a Muzika (The Mole and the Music)

The mix track lives. That's one cool looking record at the end.

Krtek Malirem (The Mole as a Painter)

This one is great just for the surreal landscapes that get set up, even if they went a little far in their revenge on the fox.

Krtek Fotografem (The Mole as a Photographer)

And here is how he fares as a photographer.

The California Academy of Sciences, has decided to redesign their museum after the quakes in 1999. They choose Renzo Piano to be the architect to carry out the new project that is being constructed in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Piano along with the California Academy of Sciences, had big goals for the new museum with two tasks in mind, keeping the historic (restoring old facades, pillars, and vaulted ceilings) while also being innovative and technological. The new museum houses some crazy, new elements including a brand new digital planetarium, a living penguin display in the African Hall, and even a mock rainforest. Unlike most museums, 

The new California Academy of Sciences uses glass to open up the spaces providing ambient lighting and even open courtyards.The new museum also is a leader in green technologies including photovoltaic systems that alone provide 5% of the building's energy, Many of the building components coming from recycled materials (90% of all demolition materials were recycled, 50% of lumber was harvested from sustainable yield forests, 68% of insulation comes from recycled blue jeans), and finally the most important element is one of the largest living roofs. The roof covers over 2.5 acres, which houses 1.7 million native pant. The living roof provides insulation along 

with absorbing over 3.6 million gallons of rainwater, which would typically just end up in storm drains. The roof within its self is an engineering phenomenon (322 engineers where on duty) due to its complex roof structure of suspended glass ceilings, and "hill" structures that house the planetarium and mock rainforest. The 488 million dollar museum opens its doors on september 22nd 2008, and it seems to be anything but extraordinary. The California Academy of Sciences took their once typical museum, and have really created an innovative establishment on the cutting edge of sustainable and green technologies.

Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not...

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Kenneth Grahame

My notes:

Everyone loves the Mole and the Rat. & I'm sure the Existentialists will also dig what they have to say of life. Interestingly, Grahame does not stop at showing us the uselessness of action but goes beyond it all to tell us how to find meaning...that's what the novel is all about. Animals are just there to make us smile but beneath it all, Grahame means serious business.

Thanks for the Image!

The Mole television season has come to an end and just as I was about to lay back and wait in anticipation for the next season, thinking it was finally back for good, I find out that it is in danger of being discontinued YET AGAIN! And why? Because ABC feels it isn't attracting enough of an audience.

Now, I've watched The Mole since the first season. It was a television show my whole family would get into. We'd watch the first episode and make our predictions on who the mole was, and then watch out for the clues up until the last episode. None of us got it right on our first choice. Ironically, this season was the first season that who I picked from the first episode was actually the mole (you didn't fool me Craig)! But we usually made the whole mole show a nice family event. We'd all watch, see if our choice survived for another episode, try to find the clues and throw a little mini party for the last episode.

But it seems ABC just doesn't know what to do with this wonderful show. They kept moving the day and the time (and this season they made it late night on Mondays which I'm sure didn't help) to try and get more viewers but with their indecision came a lower viewer count. And because of their poor judgement, The Mole might be taken off the air once more.

The reason why I'm ranting in this blog is because I find this very thick-brick-headed (woo, made up a term) on the network's part. They either kept putting this show in non-popular TV viewing times or had it up against a very popular show. In fact, when it first came out, if my memory serves me correctly I believe they had it up against Survivor. Who is doing the scheduling at ABC? And the worst part of the whole issue is that the ABC executives feel that this show isn't getting good ratings because it is "too smart" for the general TV audience.

I find this insulting. Now, I do watch TV and while, granted I watched more television as a child than I do now, I still like shows that make me think. I'm sure people of my generation remember "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego." Was I the only one who liked that show? Was I the only one who actually waited to do their homework, rushed from school to sit in front of the TV and actually try and figure out where the red-coated thief was? And better yet, was I the only one who got the computer video game and played it back then? Well, maybe I was one of few playing the video game as I am a geeky person. However, most twenty-year olds I talk to, know who Carmen Sandiego is and always tell me, "Oh, I remember that show!"

Why can't we have "smart programming" now? The Mole is quite similar to Carmen Sandiego if you think about it. You're looking for the "thief" in the group, you're reading the clues until you figure out who the mole is. Its pretty much an adult version of Carmen Sandiego. While I do feel the human race is going down the stupidity drain, there are still exceptions to that. There are still others who want to think and are not completely idiotic. We're not all brain-dead, ABC...

So I researched this debate a bit more online and found a website called savethemole.com. It seems the show's producers are trying to prove this very point. There's also on ABC's message board for the show and a few youtube videos with people petitioning against its removal. I only wished I had seen these places sooner. It seems that ABC moderators are deleting the petition posts and the savethemole campaign ran until August 2nd. What's wrong ABC? Don't want to be reminded that some people have a brain?

I appreciate that ABC did bring The Mole to our television worlds, however, I'm against their treatment of it and how they visualize their viewers. We're not all like Wipeout contestants. If only they'd listen to the fans of the show and schedule it more appropriately, maybe they'll get the following they want for it. If you feel as outraged as I am about how ABC may be throwing away an actual smart show, then spread the word. Don't let the mole get "executed" without a fight!

Não sei quanto a minha prima, porque quando ficamos mais adolescentes ela parou de ir para Floripa e eu continuei. Consegui pegar umas ondinhas sozinha e até arrisquei algumas manobras. Pintei meu quarto de azul, porque queria desenhar nas paredes o mar, mas depois meu quarto ficou cheio demais e não sobrou nenhum espaço para um peixinho. (Mas isso é outra história)

Aos dezenove anos mudei para Florianópolis. Um sonho consumado! Embora algumas vezes ia para a praia de coturno e fazendo cara de mal, sempre ficava horas na areia observando os surfistas. Acompanhei muitos campeonatos na Praia Mole, na época já era essa praia moda entre os surfistas. Num ano teve uma rodada de um campeonato mundial na Mole, foi demais. Eu saia do trabalho e ia direto para a praia, foi muito legal, ficávamos sentados na areia vibrando com cada manobra radical de surfistas brasileiros e para nossa sorte a arrebentação estava bem próxima da areia, então podíamos ver com detalhes. Senti-me como se estivesse num estádio de futebol, tinha muita gente. Vi meus ídolos de adolescência, como os Padaratiz, por exemplo, a um metro de distancia, mas não pedi para tirar fotos porque sempre fui muito tímida.

Embora nunca fosse muito intensa e meu desejo nunca foi grande demais no ano passado ou retrasado comprei outra prancha de bodyboard e pés de pato, meus pais tinham alugado uma casa em Caraguatatuba e era perto de praias como Maresias e Guaecá que ficam em São Sebastião, cidade vizinha a Caraguá. Tomei alguns caldos e então preferi me aposentar. Já estava mais velha e meu desempenho não era como o de outrora.

No final do ano passado compramos um apê na Praia de Pitangueiras no Guarujá. Minha casa fica bem perto do Morro do Maluf, um lugar que facilmente vejo ondas boas, lá no final de julho teve uma etapa do campeonato internacional. Foi me dando uma fissura e uma vontade de cair no mar... resolvi entrar numa aulinha de surf, dessas pranchas de ficar de pé. Comecei com um long longboard, como sou alta e um pouco velha acho que essa é a melhor maneira de conseguir alguma coisa no mar. Ah! Porque falei da minha prima no início pó post? É porque ela começará a fazer aulas em setembro. Os sonhos não morrem, apenas adormecem!

1986 primeiro desejo.

1991 Cecilia e eu na espuma.

1991 Guilherme fazendo pose.

1991 fazendo poses super-radicais.

1991.

1991.

1991 shuá.

1991.

1994 Cecilia e Debora na praia da Joaquina.

1994.

1994.

Fotos de 1994.

Luego de girar por todo el continente junto a Soda Stereo, el baterista Charly Alberti regresará a los escenarios con Mole, su nueva banda.

Alberti había anunciado con bombos y platillos su regreso a la música a principios de 2007. Su nuevo proyecto era Mole, un grupo de rock alternativo con potentes canciones que lanzó un disco homónimo en abril del año pasado.

Sin embargo, su decisión de volver con Soda Stereo para la exitosísima gira de regreso dejó al proyecto en "stand by".

Cumplidos sus compromisos con su antigua banda -y luego de haberse presentado para un millón de personas en diversas ciudades de todo el continente- Alberti decidió reactivar Mole y arrancar su demorada gira nacional.

Con el video de "Bote", su nuevo corte de difusión, a punto de debutar en canales de televisión; el conjunto retomará su actividad el 16 de agosto en el Estadio Central Córdoba, de Tucumán.

El tour continuará el 22 en Ciudad de las Artes de Córdoba, y el 23 en Sala Lavarden de Rosario. Además, durante septiembre Mole se presentará en Mendoza (el 6, en Teatro Plaza Colón), Buenos Aires (el 13, en el Festival Pepsi Music), y Neuquén (el 27, en Kimika Night Lab). El grupo informó que próximamente confirmará nuevas fechas. (Reporter)

यह रात उलझी हुई है तेरी लटों में ओ जानम
आग की रेशमी लपक-सा तेरा उजला चेहरा है
सुर्ख़ तेरे लब हैं जैसे दहकते हुए अंगारे
छलकते पैमाने जैसी आँखों में गुलाबी कोहरा है

तंग पोशाक में उभरे हुए जिस्म की कशिश
तेरा दीवाना आज ख़ुद तेरे हुस्न का शिकार है
गोरे गालों पर काला तिल उफ़ क़ायमत हो
मैं सैद तू सैय्याद यह रिश्ता भी निभाना हुआ

अदाएँ ख़ूब हैं मेरे जल्वागर जाँ-निसार की
वह हर एक रंग में घुलता है निखरता है
जब भी खिलती है उसके चेहरे पर ख़ुशी
वह एक हसीं ख़ाब में भिगोया हुआ लगता है